ScientistPankaj: Betelgeuse's Brightening Raises Hopes for a Supernova Spectacle

Friday, May 19, 2023

Betelgeuse's Brightening Raises Hopes for a Supernova Spectacle

Sponsored by

May 19, 2023

Astronomy

Betelgeuse's Brightening Raises Hopes for a Supernova Spectacle

Betelgeuse, the red star at the shoulder of the constellation Orion, has been acting strange, raising hopes for the spectacle of a lifetime

By Meghan Bartels

Evolution

The Closest Living Relative of the First Animal Has Finally Been Found

A debate has been settled over the earliest animal ancestor—a free-swimming creature with a well-developed nervous system

By Viviane Callier

Climate Change

We're About to See a Rare and Record-Setting May Heat Wave

A potentially record-setting heat wave is headed for the Pacific Northwest and western Canada, a sign of the shift to hotter—and earlier—summers

By Andrea Thompson

Epidemiology

What Is Causing So Much Pink Eye?

The newest SARS-CoV-2 strain may cause red, watery eyes. But the symptom can have other causes, too

By Emily Sohn

Sponsor Content Provided by BioHarvest Sciences

Harnessing nature’s health-promoting compounds at industrial scale

While plant nutrients have enormous potential for aiding human health and wellness, accessing those ingredients can be difficult. We need to create sustainable solutions at an industrial scale to meet the growing demand for premium clean and consistent phytochemicals.

Psychology

People in the U.S. Think They Are Better Than They Actually Are. People in Asia Don't

Western individualism may promote a “better than you actually are” mindset

By Shinobu Kitayama

Archaeology

Stone Engravings of Mysterious Ancient Megastructures May Be World's Oldest 'Blueprints'

Stone engravings of ancient megastructures called desert kites may be the earliest “blueprints” ever discovered

By Tom Metcalfe

Anthropology

The First Kiss in Recorded History Dates Back Nearly 5,000 Years

Kissing probably predates Homo sapiens as a species, but the first texts documenting the beso go back to the early Bronze Age

By Stephanie Pappas

Geology

Strange Tremors Rattle Danish Island--But it Wasn't an Earthquake

Dozens of people reported tremors, but seismologists say there was no earthquake

By Meghan Bartels

Climate Change

Hawaii Has Permafrost, and Scientists Are Racing to Study It before It's Gone

Permafrost can—incongruously—be found in Hawaii, but surveys show it has been shrinking over time, in part because of climate change

By Chelsea Harvey,E&E News

Quantum Physics

Physicists Create Biggest-Ever Schrödinger's Cat

Physicists have put the largest-ever object into a quantum superposition

By Lars Fischer,Daisy Yuhas

Food

Science Shows Why Traditional Kimchi Making Works So Well

A new study reveals why handmade fermentation vessels called onggi stand the test of time

By Rachel Crowell

BRING SCIENCE HOME

Exploring the Depths--of Vision!

Now you see it... How well can you catch a ball with just one eye open? Put your depth perception to the test and see how you do! Credit: George Retseck

Did you know that there is a type of giant clam that has thousands of small eyes covering its body? It's called Tridacna gigas, and it lives in the South Pacific Ocean. Although it has a lot of them, T. gigas's eyes are fairly primitive compared with ours. (So don’t be too jealous that you don’t have thousands of eyes, too!)

All vertebrate animals (including humans) have two eyes these days. Humans have developed an amazingly complex visual processing system that allows us to collect and process a tremendous amount of information—in the blink of an eye! Our visual system is so good at processing information for us that we usually don’t even notice what it’s doing. In this activity we’re going to explore some of the amazing abilities of that system. So get ready to say, “thanks, eyes!”