Science

“You can’t get back specimens”: Ukrainian scientists rush to save irreplaceable collections | Science

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On the morning of 24 February, conservation biologist Anton Vlaschenko awoke to the sound of shelling outside his apartment in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The first thing he did was eat a big breakfast. Then, he headed straight to the Ukrainian Bat Rehabilitation Center; the bat rescue and research facility is the largest of its kind in … Read more

Pandemic signals from the sewer—what virus levels in wastewater tell us | Science

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In March 2020, the Austrian ski town of Ischgl—known for 239 kilometers of uninterrupted runs and an exuberant après-ski scene—suddenly became infamous as the site of the one of the first COVID-19 superspreading events. Hundreds of infected skiers took the virus home and seeded outbreaks all around Europe. As the pandemic progressed, however, Ischgl was … Read more

Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Reported to Have Lost Electricity. Here’s What That Means

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Chernobyl’s nuclear power plant and all the facilities in the Chernobyl exclusion zone have been completely disconnected and are now without electricity, Ukraine’s state energy company has announced.    Russian forces attacked the defunct nuclear facility on the very first day of the invasion (Feb. 24), seizing it after heavy fighting and taking its roughly 210 staff hostage, Live Science … Read more

Western nations cut ties with Russian science, even as some projects try to remain neutral | Science

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In 2011, Russia signed a deal that would pay the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) $300 million to help found the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech), an English-language research university on the outskirts of Moscow. Dozens of researchers from around the world leaped at the chance for a foreign assignment, which they thought … Read more

World’s largest particle physics lab suspends political ties with Russia | Science

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In responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the politicians who control the European particle physics laboratory, CERN, are trying to strike a delicate balance. In a special session, the CERN Council, which is composed of representatives from the laboratory’s 23 member nations, voted to suspend the “observer” privileges of the Russian Federation, CERN announced today. … Read more

Sharks save energy with daytime naps | Science

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Sharks benefit from some shuteye, and biologists in Australia and New Zealand think they’ve begun to understand why. Their experiments suggest sharks sleep to save energy between meals. The discovery might lead to a clearer model of how sleep evolved and developed among vertebrate animals. There is plenty of evidence of sleep in vertebrate animals, … Read more

Bringing back the woolly mammoth and other extinct creatures may be impossible | Science

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An extinct rat that once lived on an island in the Indian Ocean may have put the kibosh on scientists’ dreams of resurrecting more famous extinct animals like the woolly mammoth. The Christmas Island rat disappeared just over 100 years ago, but researchers now say even its detailed genome isn’t complete enough to bring it … Read more

Bizarre 300-Year-Old Mummified ‘Mermaid’ Can Finally Be Explained

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Researchers in Japan are investigating the origins of a nightmarish, 300-year-old mummified ‘mermaid‘, which has been worshipped for centuries due to its supposed medicinal properties.   The haunting remains are most likely a gruesome amalgam of a monkey’s torso sewed onto a fish’s tail, potentially embellished with hair and nails from a human.  Hiroshi Kinoshita, board member … Read more

Newly discovered octopus ancestor had 10 arms | Science

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New class of killer T cells may prevent autoimmune diseases | Science

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The price for a vigilant immune system that can pounce on tumor cells or pathogens is occasional friendly fire—an autoimmune attack. Scientists have now identified a new type of human T cell that quells assaults on healthy tissues, a finding that could suggest treatments for conditions as diverse as lupus and cancer. “It’s a major … Read more