More than a billion years ago and a billion light years away, two black holes merged. This was a truly cataclysmic event a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. In Star Wars Darth Vader tells us not to “underestimate the power of the dark side.” This amazing discovery shows how right he was.
Two black holes, about 29 times and 36 times the mass of our sun, collide in this computer visualization of the event that provided the first direct evidence that black holes exist, can exist in a pair, and can collide and merge. Read more.
Before developing perceptual constancy, three- to four-month-old babies have a striking ability to see image differences that are invisible to adults. They lose this superior skill around the age of five months
The laws of physics work both forward and backward in time. So why does time seem to move in only one direction? One potential answer may also reveal the secrets of the universe’s missing mass.
The good news is that Koch has stood down and while this is predominantly a cosmetic victory, on some level we all know this probably sticks in David Koch’s craw
So-called "supercoils" change the behavior of DNA, opening a new role for topology in the study of life.
Levins showed it is possible to be a serious scientist and a radical — a revelation for a scientifically and mathematically inclined young adult growing up at the “end of history.” He leaves an extraordinary scientific legacy matched by his legacy as a radical and activist.
Science doesn't need another moonshot, and it really doesn't need another vaguely thought-out initiative dropped on it during a State of the Union address. What it needs is much more important—and probably much more difficult politically, because those needs are much less flashy. What science needs is stable, sustainable budget growth. Take the NIH budget and promise to grow it at a percent or two above inflation for a number of years. The number 10 would be good.
According to a new finding, described as a "shock" by its discoverers, a single mutation 600 million years ago may be responsible for the emergence of complex organisms -- including all of the plants and animals that we are familiar with -- from a single-celled ancestor. This evolutionary accident enabled cells to communicate with each others and therefore to cooperate.
Nature offers a panoply of ways to determine an organism’s sex. How can such a fundamental property be so variable?
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