What’s the Smallest Particle in the Universe?
The answer to this supposedly simple particle physics question isn’t so simple
Author
Gayoung Lee
29 rundowns
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Nearby Habitable-Zone Exoplanet May Be a World of Fire and Ice
A newly confirmed exoplanet around a nearby sunlike star might be astronomers’ best chance yet to look for life beyond the solar system—but it’s still no place like home
Penguins Help to Map Antarctica’s Growing Mercury Threat
Molted penguin feathers record mercury infiltrating Antarctica’s food web
After 286 Days in Space, NASA Astronauts Return to Earth with a Splash
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams had been “stuck” at the International Space Station since June 6, 2024, after Boeing’s Starliner, the vehicle they rode to get there, ran into multiple hardware problems
Does Your Language’s Grammar Change How You Think?
The brain’s response to information depends on language’s grammatical structure
JWST Spots Giant Spiral Galaxy Shockingly Early in Cosmic History
Nicknamed the “Big Wheel,” a giant, spiral-shaped disk galaxy was spotted in an unusually crowded part of the early universe just two billion years after the big bang
Migrating Birds Sing to Team Up with Other Species
Songbirds may socialize across species during nighttime migrations
To Find Life on Mars, Make Microbes Wiggle
Could tiny swimming microbes help us unlock the mysteries of extraterrestrial life?
Do We Really Know Less about the Deep Sea Than the Moon or Mars?
A new review of ocean data suggests that more than 99.999 percent of the global deep seafloor has never been seen by humans. But what does that really mean?
South Korean Haenyeo Divers’ Extreme Lifestyle Is Shaping Their Genetics
The Haenyeo, an all-female group of divers on South Korea’s Jeju Island, spend much of their lives underwater without equipment—a “superpower” that may be written into their DNA