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Stories from Margherita Bassi

New data suggest that the asteroid will pass the moon at a distance of 13,200 miles.

Asteroid 2024 YR4 Won’t Slam Into the Moon, According to NASA

Both Earth and the moon will be dodging the infamous space rock in 2032

New images of Uranus show the planet in blue, the upper atmosphere in red, auroras in lighter red spots and rings in white.

Take a Look at Uranus’ Weird, Lopsided Upper Atmosphere Bespeckled with Auroras

A new 3D map of gas surrounding the planet will help researchers better understand the strange world

Some scientists suspect that microorganisms can hop between planets by jumping aboard debris kicked up by asteroid strikes.

Could Life on Earth Have Descended From Microbes That Traveled From Mars Long Ago?

Scientists demonstrated that an Earthly extremophile might withstand being ejected from the Red Planet on debris spewed into space due to an asteroid strike

The physics behind shoe squeaks is surprisingly complex. 

Why Do Basketball Players’ Shoes Squeak on the Court? Here’s the Physics Behind the Iconic, High-Pitched Sounds

The screeches come from wave-like deformations of sneakers’ flexible soles

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and other officials announced major changes to the Artemis program.

Why NASA’s Artemis 3 Mission Isn’t Sending Astronauts to the Moon Anymore

The mission’s goals have changed, and Artemis 4 will be the first lunar landing attempt. Four missions are tentatively scheduled within the next three years

A total lunar eclipse last year photographed from Kannur, India

The Eerie ‘Blood’ Moon Will Grace the Night Sky This Week, Thanks to a Total Lunar Eclipse

The orb will take on the spooky hue for about an hour on March 3 because of sunlight filtering through Earth’s atmosphere

Some caterpillars need ants to care for them. 

Needy Caterpillars Vibrate to Complex Rhythms to Communicate With Ants

Researchers have found that some butterfly caterpillars mimic the meticulously timed movements of ants to win their favor and protection

Saturn's rings are surprisingly young

A Smashing New Proposal About Saturn’s History Might Explain Its Iconic Rings and Some of Its Odd Moons

A crash involving the planet’s largest moon, Titan, and a hypothetical moon may have triggered a curious sequence of events

Tiger Kingdom facilities are popular tourist attractions in Thailand.

Seventy-Two Captive Tigers in Thailand Die From Dangerous Infections, Sparking Concerns Over Animal Welfare

An animal foundation asks why the big cats weren’t vaccinated against a well-known virus

Researchers asked participants, at an average of about 80 years old, to report their exposure to intellectual enrichment throughout their lives, and then tracked them for around eight years.

Lifelong Learning Might Lower Your Risk of Developing Alzheimer’s Disease, a New Study Suggests

While the research does not point to a direct, causal link, it hints that activities like reading, writing and playing games might help extend cognitive function

Starliner leaving the ISS in September 2024. 

NASA Report Reveals the Failures That Left Two Astronauts ‘Stranded’ on the International Space Station

NASA’s administrator blames both the agency and Boeing for Starliner’s infamous problems

Geologist Molly Patterson holds part of the sediment core

Researchers Retrieve the Deepest-Ever Rock Core From Beneath Antarctica’s Ice. It Holds Clues About the Earth’s Past—and Future

The 748-foot-long sediment core contains a record of roughly the past 23 million years, including periods when the planet’s surface temperature was hotter than it is today

By age 20, autism diagnoses are almost equal among men and women in Sweden, a new study suggests.

Is Autism Really a Male-Dominated Condition? A New Study Suggests Women Have It Just as Often, but Are Diagnosed Later in Life

Researchers examined the prevalence of autism among nearly three million people born in Sweden over the past four decades

An artistic rendering of the 'inside out' solar system

Astronomers Discover an Exoplanet in the Wrong Place, Hinting at a Planetary System That Was Born ‘Inside Out’

A rocky planet was found orbiting its host star in an unusual location

Researchers developed a tiny fart-measuring device that snaps into underwear. 

How Often Do You Fart? This ‘Smart Underwear’ Can Keep Track, Because Figuring Out a Baseline Is Important for Science

Researchers have launched a study to find a typical range for flatulence, which has been harder to measure than you might expect

European robins normally live in western Eurasia and parts of North Africa, but this one somehow ended up in Canada.

Bird-Watchers Flock to Montreal to Catch a Glimpse of Canada’s First Known European Robin

Experts don’t know how the little songbird traveled across the Atlantic Ocean

The waved albatross.

Why a Marine Ecologist Was Thrilled to See a Critically Endangered Bird Very Far From Home

The farthest north the waved albatross had been seen was Costa Rica, so what was it doing off the coast of California?

An artistic representation of T. heberti snacking on some greens.

A Football-Size Creature That Lived 307 Million Years Ago May Have Been One of the First Land Vertebrates to Eat Plants

“Hebert’s tyrant digger” had teeth built for grinding tough veggies, a new study suggests

The particle collider smashes together atomic nuclei—comprised of particles called protons and neutrons—to break them into their smaller components.

The U.S.’s Only Particle Collider Recreated Moments From the Early Universe. Now, It Has Closed—to Make Way for a New Instrument

The end of the facility’s 25-year run is “bittersweet”

Chris Buck at work in a kitchen lab

This Scientist Brewed and Drank His Own ‘Vaccine Beer’ to Combat a Dangerous Virus. It Seems to Have Worked

Blood tests revealed that the beverage elicited an immune response, according to preliminary research. But far more safety and efficacy testing would be needed before this vaccine could become available

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