Science

  NASA has to rethink some tried-and-true approaches to spacecraft navigation as it eyes more distant targets. Spacecraft need extremely accurate location measurements to plan maneuvers, but the way we’ve been doing that can be painfully slow. That’s why NASA launched a new prototype atomic clock into orbit recently. This …

Carrion crows (Corvus corone), a species of songbird in the family of Corvidae, can voluntarily control the release and onset of their calls, suggesting that songbird calls are under cognitive control, according to new research from the University of Tübingen, Germany. The carrion crow (Corvus corone). Image credit: Ian Kirk …

  SpaceX has big plans for the Starship that include launching deep space missions and colonizing Mars. Before it can do any of that, it has to finish designing the vehicle. The final Starship will be a sci-fi masterpiece of stainless steel, but the Starhopper is its stubby precursor. This …

According to a study published in the journal eNeuro (bioRxiv.org preprint), changes in vibration-sensitive neurons may equip forager honeybees for waggle dance communication. A honeybee (Apis mellifera). Image credit: Vijaya Narasimha. Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are social insects. As they mature, adult honeybees engage in four primary social roles — cleaners, …

  NASA is still busy integrating the systems that will let the new Mars 2020 rover explore the red planet, but engineers took time to hook up the rover’s sole passenger this week: the Mars Helicopter. The small experimental aircraft is now installed on the belly of the rover, ready …

People who have dogs are more likely to achieve the recommended level of behavioral cardiovascular health metrics such as physical activity and diet than non-owners of dogs, according to a new study published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality Outcomes. Pet owners, especially people who have dogs, are more …

New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) are well-known for their sophisticated tool use. According to a new study, these birds behave optimistically after tool use. The findings, published in the journal Current Biology, raise the possibility that enjoyment may be a fundamental cause in the evolution of tool use and other …

  It has been less than 30 years since the discovery of the first exoplanets, and we’re still in the dark when it comes to the possibility of life on any of them. Our techniques for finding other planets isn’t particularly sensitive, and we’re not even certain what signals we …

  Decorated US astronaut Anne McClain had been accused of committing the first crimes in space. McClain is going through an acrimonious divorce and her spouse, Summer Worden, has alleged that McClain committed financial improprieties by accessing financial records while serving aboard the ISS (International Space Station) and has filed …

A new study led by Uppsala University researchers provides the first direct evidence of filter feeding in Jurassic pterosaurs and shows that they had a similar diet to the Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis). An artist’s impression of the Cretaceous pterosaur Pterodaustro. Image credit: Nobu Tamura, spinops.blogspot.com / CC BY 3.0. …