"Christmas tree worm" is the common name for a marine worm that lives on tropical coral reefs around the world. You won’t find Spirobranchus giganteus, also known as the Christmas tree worm, eating your fir tree this year. The common name for... Continue Reading →
Vision is a complex process. The visual perception of the environment is created by a combination of different wavelengths of light, which are decoded as colors and brightness in the brain. Photoreceptors in the retina first convert the light into... Continue Reading →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most prevalent greenhouse gas driving global climate change. However, its increase in the atmosphere would be even more rapid without land and ocean carbon sinks, which collectively absorb about half of human emissions every year.... Continue Reading →
MIT neuroscientists have discovered that the adult brain contains millions of “silent synapses” — immature connections between neurons that remain inactive until they’re recruited to help form new memories. Until now, it was believed that silent synapses were present only... Continue Reading →
In visible light, the Sun appears blank and featureless. But through a solar telescope in a different wavelength, it is revealed to be much, much more. In extreme ultraviolet light, the Sun resembles a rumpled ball of yarn. It teems... Continue Reading →
We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep. William James
Brain cells with the same "birthdate" are more likely to wire together into cooperative signaling circuits that carry out many functions, including the storage of memories, a new study finds. Led by researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the... Continue Reading →
What's happening at the center of active galaxy 3C 75? The two bright sources at the center of this composite x-ray (blue)/ radio (pink) image are co-orbiting supermassive black holes powering the giant radio source 3C 75. Surrounded by multimillion degree x-ray emitting gas, and blasting out... Continue Reading →
What will the Moon phase be on your birthday this year? It is hard to predict because the Moon's appearance changes nightly. As the Moon orbits the Earth, the half illuminated by the Sun first becomes increasingly visible, then decreasingly visible. The featured video animates images and altitude data taken by... Continue Reading →
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