Nicknamed “Galloping Gertie” for its tendency to bend and undulate, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge[1] had just opened to traffic on July 1, 1940. In a now infamous failure, in the face of moderate winds the morning of Nov. 7, 1940, the bridge started to repeatedly twist. After an hour of twisting, the bridge collapsed. One fatal engineering...
How does your brain create new memories? Neuroscientists discover ‘rules’ for how neurons encode new information
Every day, people are constantly learning and forming new memories. When you pick up a new hobby, try a recipe a friend recommended or read the latest world news, your brain stores many of these memories for years or decades[1].
But how does your brain achieve this incredible feat?
In our newly published research in the journal Science,...
Dark energy may have once been ‘springier’ than it is today − DESI cosmologists explain what their collaboration’s new measurement says about the universe’s history
Gravity pulls us to earth, a lesson you learn viscerally the first time you fall. Isaac Newton described gravity as a universal attractive force, one that holds the Moon in orbit around the Earth, the planets in orbit around the Sun, and the Sun in orbit around the center of our galaxy.
In the 1990s, astronomers made the astonishing...
Why the meteorites that hit Earth have less water than the asteroid bits brought back by space probes – a planetary scientist explains new research
Much of what scientists know about the early solar system comes from meteorites – ancient rocks that travel through space and survive a fiery plunge through Earth’s atmosphere. Among meteorites, one type – called carbonaceous chondrites[1] – stands out as the most primitive and provides a unique glimpse into the solar system’s infancy...