Fifty years ago, on June 1, 1973, astronomers around the world were introduced to a powerful and perplexing new phenomenon called GRBs (gamma-ray bursts). Today sensors on orbiting satellites like NASA's Swift and Fermi missions ...
Humans have a long history of venerating ancient trees. That reverence and care taking took a modern turn in the 18th century, when naturalists embarked on a quest to locate and date the oldest living things on Earth, as ...
A star is born—but how? Astronomers are unravelling the mysteries of how clouds of gas ignite to become stars and form spiral galaxies near our own.
June's record-breaking heat wave left more than 40 million Americans sweltering in temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Some places reached 120 F, and energy grids were struggling to keep people cool. More than half ...
Olive trees are some of the most important woody crops in the world, and Verticillium wilt, caused by the Verticillium dahliae fungus, is the most concerning disease for farmers in the olive sector.
Let's start at the beginning. Before humans, before Earth, before any of the planets existed, there were baby planets—planetesimals. Coalesced from dust exploded outward by the solar nebula, these blobs of material were ...
The supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy spat out an enormous flare of radiation 3.5 million years ago that would have been clearly visible from Earth.
With news that companies like Starbucks, Hyatt and Marriott have agreed to ban plastic straws, it's a fitting time to consider the role of plastic in our daily lives. Plastics are an often overlooked modern wonder – cheap ...
This summer, astronauts on the International Space Station will launch a Penn State student-built satellite into orbit that will help learn more about space weather.
In a development beneficial for both industry and environment, UC Santa Barbara researchers have created a high-quality coating for organic electronics that promises to decrease processing time as well as energy requirements.
