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Rumors Cast Doubt on Diphoton Bump
Rampant rumors and a new analysis undercut hopes of a major discovery at the Large Hadron Collider.
The Maestro of Memory Manipulation
The neuroscientist Sheena Josselyn can evoke and erase memories in mice using new tools that precisely control the brain.
The Universe Is Not a Snowflake
Nature’s laws are beautiful because they strike a compromise between boring symmetry and confusing asymmetry, physicists say.
How to Grow Metal-Eating Microbes
Metal-eating microbes get energy from rocks and could teach us about life on other worlds — but first scientists had to learn how to grow them in the lab.
New Life Found That Lives Off Electricity
Scientists have figured out how microbes can suck energy from rocks. Such lifeforms might be more widespread than anyone anticipated.
Interstellar Find Adds Life to Old Debate
Figuring out how these molecules form in the deep recesses of interstellar space might illuminate the origins of one of life’s distinguishing features.
Is Infinity Real?
Three puzzles test whether the concept of infinity has purchase in the physical world.
LIGO Reports Second Black-Hole Merger
The spokesperson for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory called it “a promising start to mapping the populations of black holes in our universe.”
The Downside to Neanderthal DNA
How interbreeding among early hominins harmed humans but may have slowed the Neanderthals’ decline.