MULTICELLULARITY | ALL TOPICS

The Physics of Cold Water May Have Jump-Started Complex Life

By VERONIQUE GREENWOOD

When seawater gets cold, it gets viscous. This fact could explain how single-celled ocean creatures became multicellular when the planet was frozen during "Snowball Earth," according to experiments.

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PARTICLE PHYSICS

Vacuum of Space to Decay Sooner Than Expected (but Still Not Soon)

By MATT VON HIPPEL

One of the quantum fields that fills the universe is special because its default value seems poised to eventually change, changing everything.

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ASTRONOMY

Radio Maps May Reveal the Universe's Biggest Magnetic Fields

Podcast hosted by SUSAN VALOT;
Story by JONATHAN O'CALLAGHAN

A controversial technique has produced detailed maps of the magnetic fields in colossal galaxy clusters. If confirmed, the approach could be used to reveal where cosmic magnetic fields come from.

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