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From Gaia, a Twinkling Treasure Trove

September 14, 2016

The first star map from the ESA’s Gaia space telescope is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the Milky Way galaxy.

Seeing Time Through a Liquid Crystal Display

September 13, 2016

What insights can an LCD display give us about time's arrow?

Responding Rapidly to Big Discoveries

September 9, 2016

How do scientists react to major breaking science news? For astrophysicists after the big gravitational waves announcement, it was meeting for two weeks in Santa Barbara, California.

Genetic Engineering to Clash With Evolution

September 8, 2016

Gene drives promise to spread a trait across an entire population. But evolutionary forces are going to alter even the best-engineered plans.

Solution: ‘A Drunkard’s Walk in Manhattan’

September 7, 2016

City blocks help illustrate why walking randomly tends to take you away from your starting point.

Colliding Black Holes Tell New Story of Stars

September 6, 2016

Just months after their discovery, gravitational waves coming from the mergers of black holes are shaking up astrophysics.

Q&A

A Seeker of Dark Matter’s Hidden Light

September 1, 2016

The astrophysicist Tracy Slatyer is searching for faint wisps of dark matter annihilating in the early universe — and perhaps in hiding places closer to home.

The Strange Case of Typhoid Mary

August 31, 2016

The infamous case of Typhoid Mary underscores the importance of tolerance in understanding disease.

A New Way to Predict Infection’s Toll

August 30, 2016

Scientists have developed new ways to forecast who will bounce back from disease by studying not just the way the immune system fights infections, but how the body repairs itself.

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