We’ve never been able to journey to the center of the Earth, but thanks to an incredibly innovative experiment, we may not have to go there to understand what it’s like. Historically, we’ve explored our planet’s interior using seismic measurements—basically, measuring vibrations that pass through the Earth to tell us more about what’s going on in there. Thanks to research like this we know the Earth has an innermost, super dense solid core, surrounded by a less dense, liquid outer core But now, an exciting new experiment tells us details about the Earth’s core that we’ve never had access to before by using something called a diamond anvil cell, two…

Thanks to data from NASA’s MAVEN satellite, researchers have created the very first detailed map of the electric currents responsible for shaping the magnetic field that wraps around Mars. Researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder have created the very first detailed map of the electric currents responsible for shaping the magnetic field that wraps around Mars, and the resulting visualizations can provide clues as to how we can maybe make this inhospitable planet, hospitable. Unlike Earth, Mars doesn’t have an intrinsic magnetic field to stop charged particles from stripping away its atmosphere, nor does it have global magnetic field to protect it from the rigors of space weather. The…

We’re now using viruses to make batteries…like the kind you could use in your car. So, how does that work and how close are we to a virus-powered car? After recognizing that we have the ability to insert information into a virus’ genome to make stuff, a pioneering team at MIT is using viruses for their own devices. The team is working with the M13 bacteriophage, which is a kind of virus that only infects bacteria, and whose circular genome is relatively simple and is easy to manipulate. Scientists expose batches of this virus to the material they want it to latch onto, like a specific kind of metal. Then,…

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, communities of color have been — and continue to be — hit disproportionately hard. Let’s talk about why. When it comes to the racial health disparities that have emerged throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, some have postulated that genetics are the underlying cause. But the data indicates that something else is at play. If we take the U.S. as an example, 13% of the country’s population is Black, but Black people make up 24% of deaths from COVID— that means that Black people in the U.S. are dying at a rate that’s roughly double their population share. So, what accounts for the massive racial…