Top science news headlines for the week 47

Monday, Nov 18
Earth Sciences
621

Meltwater from Greenland and the Arctic is weakening ocean circulation to speed up warming down south, model suggests

Environment
315

Banning free plastic bags for groceries resulted in customers purchasing more plastic bags, study finds

Earth Sciences
252

Global glacier melt: Major mass loss expected by 2100

Materials Science
239

A clean break: Scientists convert plastics into soaps and detergents

Paleontology & Fossils
213

Fossil finds: Footprints on South Africa's coast offer a glimpse into our ancestors' lives

Optics & Photonics
192

Long-lived Schrödinger's-cat state achieves Heisenberg-limited sensitivity

Social Sciences
173

Be humble: Studies reveal how to increase perceived trustworthiness of scientists

Tuesday, Nov 19
Optics & Photonics
907

New theory reveals the shape of a single photon

Earth Sciences
383

Groundwater pumping drives rapid sinking in California, study shows

Social Sciences
357

Social media users probably won't read beyond this headline, researchers say

Optics & Photonics
221

Novel AI algorithm captures photons in motion

Astronomy
192

New giant radio galaxy discovered with MeerKAT

Archaeology
175

First ever goat-fish petroglyph reveals Egyptian understanding of zodiac symbols

Earth Sciences
166

Enormous cache of rare earth elements hidden inside coal ash waste, study suggests

Wednesday, Nov 20
Archaeology
305

Oldest known alphabet unearthed in ancient Syrian city

Astronomy
199

The Milky Way represents an outlier among similar galaxies, universe survey data shows

Materials Science
194

Turning carbon emissions into methane fuel: New method offers potential for abundant energy savings

Archaeology
153

Fossil collection found in Neanderthal cave suggests abstract thinking

Mathematics
146

A new puzzle piece for string theory research: Study proves 4-graviton scattering conjecture

Astronomy
135

It's been 100 years since we learned the Milky Way is not the only galaxy

Archaeology
133

Engraved trees map the way to preserving Sámi culture

Thursday, Nov 21
Earth Sciences
347

Staggering temperature rise predicted for the Middle East and North Africa

Earth Sciences
263

Greenland's meltwater will slow Atlantic circulation, climate model suggests

Polymers
212

Durable supramolecular plastic is fully ocean-degradable and doesn't generate microplastics

Archaeology
181

Neanderthal adhesive manufacturing site found in Gibraltar cave

Astronomy
174

Astronomers take first close-up picture of a star outside our galaxy

Astronomy
171

A nearby supernova could end the search for dark matter

Astrobiology
167

Origin of life research finds RNA can favor both left- and right-handed proteins

Friday, Nov 22
Astrobiology
216

Ryugu asteroid sample rapidly colonized by terrestrial life despite strict contamination control

Earth Sciences
163

In Patagonia, more snow could protect glaciers from melt—but only if greenhouse gas are curbed emissions soon

Archaeology
148

Peaches spread across North America through Indigenous networks, radiocarbon dating and document analysis show

Evolution
143

Gene regulation study reports surprising results: Extensive regions of DNA belong to multiple gene switches

Astrobiology
121

Oldest direct evidence of hot water activity on Mars found

Astronomy
120

Veil of fiery gas revealed around the disk of Milky Way

General Physics
113

Accessing the lesser known nucleon: New neutron measurement can help physicists learn about nucleon structure and spin

Saturday, Nov 23
General Physics
111

Extending classical black hole inequalities into the quantum realm

Analytical Chemistry
71

Sustainable method can electrosynthesize important chemical for synthetic rubber production

Plants & Animals
60

First successful test of wild minke whales reveals they have ultrasonic hearing

Astronomy
59

The dark energy pushing our universe apart may not be what it seems, scientists say

Other
55

Saturday Citations: Sweaty, remarkable humans; ocean level rise projections; closeup of a star in another galaxy

Archaeology
25

Healthy elbow room: Social distancing in Neolithic mega-settlements

Ecology
23

New maps show high-risk zones for whale-ship collisions—vessel speed limits and rerouting can reduce the toll