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This Animal’s Behavior Is Mechanically Programmed

March 16, 2022

Biomechanical interactions, rather than neurons, control the movements of one of the simplest animals. The discovery offers a glimpse into how animal behavior worked before neurons evolved.

Tiny Galaxies Reveal Secrets of Supermassive Black Holes

March 14, 2022

Dwarf galaxies weren’t supposed to have big black holes. Their surprise discovery has revealed clues about how the universe’s biggest black holes could have formed.

A Deepening Crisis Forces Physicists to Rethink Structure of Nature’s Laws

March 1, 2022

Physicists are reexamining a longstanding assumption: that big stuff consists of smaller stuff.

New Map of Meaning in the Brain Changes Ideas About Memory

February 8, 2022

Researchers have mapped hundreds of semantic categories to the tiny bits of the cortex that represent them in our thoughts and perceptions. What they discovered might change our view of memory.

Machine Learning Gets a Quantum Speedup

February 4, 2022

Two teams have shown how quantum approaches can solve problems faster than classical computers, bringing physics and computer science closer together.

Secrets of Early Animal Evolution Revealed by Chromosome ‘Tectonics’

February 2, 2022

Large blocks of genes conserved through hundreds of millions of years of evolution hint at how the first animal chromosomes came to be.

A Solution to the Faint-Sun Paradox Reveals a Narrow Window for Life

January 27, 2022

We might have a past faint sun to owe for life’s existence. This has consequences for the possibility of life outside Earth.

Evolution ‘Landscapes’ Predict What’s Next for COVID Virus

January 11, 2022

Studies that map the adaptive value of viral mutations hint at how the COVID-19 pandemic might progress next.

Flying Fish and Aquarium Pets Yield Secrets of Evolution

January 5, 2022

New studies reveal the ancient, shared genetic “grammar” underpinning the diverse evolution of fish fins and tetrapod limbs.