A key to the mystery of fast-evolving genes was found in ‘junk DNA’
A long-standing puzzle in evolution is why new genes — ones that seem to arise out of nowhere — can quickly take over functions essential for an organism’s survival. A new study in fruit flies may help solve that puzzle. It shows that some new genes quickly become crucial because they regulate a type of […]
The strange story of 2020 SO: How an asteroid turned into rocket junk and the NASA scientist who figured it out
As soon as he saw the data, Paul Chodas knew something was strange about the near-Earth object that had been designated 2020 SO. It should have been just another of the tens of thousands of space rocks that astronomers have spotted breezing through our neighborhood in space. This solar system rubble is mostly harmless, but […]
2 big pieces of space junk could collide tonight
Earth orbit could get a lot more crowded, and a lot more dangerous, on tonight (Oct. 15). Two big pieces of space junk are zooming toward a close approach that will occur Thursday at 8:56 p.m. EDT (0056 GMT on Oct. 16), according to California-based tracking company LeoLabs. The encounter will take place 616 miles […]
