Where are stars made? NASA's Spitzer spies a hot spot

The nebula known as W51 is one of the most active star-forming regions in the Milky Way galaxy. First identified in 1958 by radio telescopes, it makes a rich cosmic tapestry in this image from NASA's recently retired Spitzer ...

Study finds dangerous mercury levels in Amazon fish

Nearly one-third of the fish in the Brazilian Amazon state of Amapa have such high levels of mercury caused by illegal mining that they are dangerous for human consumption, according to a new study.

Rats avoid hurting other rats

Most humans feel bad about hurting others. This so-called "harm aversion" is key to normal moral development and is reduced in violent antisocial individuals. Unfortunately, little is known about what makes people harm-averse, ...

Image: Solar Dynamics Observatory spies rare encircling filament

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory came across an oddity that the spacecraft has rarely observed before: a dark filament encircling an active region (Oct. 29-31, 2017). Solar filaments are clouds of charged particles that ...

Cassini closes in on Enceladus, one last time

A thrilling chapter in the exploration of the solar system will soon conclude, as NASA's Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft makes its final close flyby of the ocean-bearing moon Enceladus. Cassini is scheduled to fly past ...

Scientists map mouse genome's 'mission control centers'

When the mouse and human genomes were catalogued more than 10 years ago, an international team of researchers set out to understand and compare the "mission control centers" found throughout the large stretches of DNA flanking ...

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