When will the next COVID vaccine be available, and who should get it?

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September 08, 2023

Vaccines When Will the Next COVID Vaccine Be Available, and Who Should Get It? An updated COVID vaccine will be available soon, but certain groups may benefit more than others By Tanya Lewis

Astronomy Mistranslation of Newton's First Law Discovered after Nearly 300 Years A new interpretation of Isaac Newton's writings clarifies what the father of classical mechanics meant in his first law of motion By Stephanie Pappas

Transportation Why High-Speed Bullet Trains Won't Work in the U.S. Right Now Amtrak will soon get 28 high-speed rail cars. But they won't operate at high speeds because Amtrak tracks are outdated By Minho Kim,E&E News

Ecology A Beautiful Newfound Fungus Mummifies Its Spider Prey A striking purple species is one piece of the fungal kingdom's uncharted diversity By Allison Parshall

Medicine Blood Clotting Proteins Might Help Predict Long COVID Brain Fog New research suggests that blood clotting from COVID infections could contribute to long-term brain fog and other cognitive issues By Sara Reardon

Anthropology Human Ancestors Nearly Went Extinct 900,000 Years Ago A new technique for analyzing modern genetic data suggests that prehumans survived in a group of only 1,280 individuals By Anna Ikarashi,Nature magazine

Animals This Lesbian Monkey Love Triangle Tells Us Something Really Interesting about Darwin's 'Paradox' A "Darwinian paradox" is that homosexual activity occurs even though it does not lead to or aid in reproduction. But if you visit three capuchin monkeys in Los Angeles, they'll show you how beneficial their liaisons are. By Natalia Reagan | 13:38

Climate Change What Do Climate Scientists Tell Their Kids about the Future? Doom and gloom, or realism and hope? Here's how six climate experts describe the future to their young children By Katie Weeman

Computing Physicists Explain How Heat Kills Machines and Electronics Extreme heat can slow and even damage electronics ranging from computers to cars By Srinivas Garimella,Matthew T. Hughes,The Conversation US

Intelligence Reading for Pleasure Helps Kids' Brain Development The simple and fun act of reading for pleasure in early childhood produces better cognition, mental health and educational attainment in adolescence By Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian,Christelle Langley,Jianfeng Feng,Yun-Jun Sun,The Conversation US

Animals Why Do Cats Knead Like They're Making Biscuits? Often nicknamed "making biscuits," kneading is a good sign that your cat is happy, experts say By Meghan Bartels

Astronomy What Color Is the Sun? Yellow, white or maybe even green—the sun's hue depends on how you see it By Phil Plait

BRING SCIENCE HOME How Heavy Is Your Air? Balloons away! You've seen a helium balloon float, but what gas could make a balloon heavier than air? Try this dense physics activity, and find out! Credit: George Retseck If you've ever accidentally let go of a helium-filled balloon while outdoors, then you know that some gases are less dense than others. In the case of your helium balloon, it most likely floated away before you could catch it because helium is much lighter (or less dense) than the air in our environment. We don't often think about gases having density—but they do! In this activity you'll explore the different densities of some common household gases, including the air that you exhale!

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