Science

FDA Approves CRISPR-Based Coronavirus Test Public health officials universally agree that the world needs much more coronavirus testing before we can safely ease current lock-down restrictions. Even at the low end, experts say we’ll need to do hundreds of thousands more daily tests, but the equipment and resources to make …

Astronomers Discover Closest Black Hole to Earth Yet Black holes have a reputation for being voracious monsters that tear apart stars and wreak easily recognizable havoc across the universe. However, most of them are pretty quiet and hard to spot. As such, astronomers haven’t found many of these objects near …

Green Tea May Help Fight Obesity, Says New Study Green tea supplementation is associated with a decrease in body weight and body mass index in obese patients, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Lin et al suggest that the use of green tea can …

Raptorial Dinosaurs Did Not Hunt in Coordinated Packs, Paleontologists Say An analysis of the fossilized teeth of Deinonychus antirrhopus, a species of wolf-sized dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived between 115 and 108 million years ago (Cretaceous period) in what is now the United States, adds to the growing evidence that this …

Jurassic Fossil Reveals Violent Squid Attack in Progress An international team of paleontologists from the University of Plymouth, the University of Kansas and the Forge Fossils has found a specimen of the squid-like cephalopod Clarkeiteuthis montefiorei preserved with the herring-like fish Dorsetichthys bechei in its two arms; the bones in …

Hunger is Main Driver of Stone Juggling in Otters, New Study Shows A team of researchers from the University of Exeter has studied potential drivers of ‘rock juggling’ in two species of otters in zoo environments. Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus). Image credit: Neil McIntosh / CC BY 2.0. Although …

Deep, Perennial or Semi-Perennial Rivers Flowed on Early Mars While the present-day Martian surface is generally dry and cold, its sedimentary rocks contain compelling evidence for the former presence of liquid water. According to a new analysis of orbital images of 3.7-billion-year-old sedimentary layers at Izola mensa, an outcrop in …

Study Sheds New Light on Remdesivir’s Mechanism of Action against SARS-CoV-2 In a paper published in the journal Science, a team of researchers from China reports the structure of the antiviral drug remdesivir bound to both a molecule of RNA and to the SARS-CoV-2 viral polymerase. The study illuminates the …

Active Tectonic System Spotted on Moon’s Nearside A system of wrinkle ridges on the nearside maria of the Moon is evidence of seismic activity set in motion 4.3 billion years ago that could be ongoing today, according to new research. Global map of the albedo from the 750 nm filter …

NASA Awards Lunar Lander Contracts to SpaceX, Blue Origin, Dynetics NASA hasn’t landed humans on the moon in decades, but the agency is pursuing an ambitious timeline for the Artemis program. Currently, NASA hopes to have crewed lunar missions ready to launch in 2024, and to further that goal, it …