Today in science: Tycho Brahe

Tycho Brahe is known for his partying, his prosthetic nose, and for being one of the greatest astronomers of all time.

1st test of new theory of gravity

Eric Verlinde's new theory of gravity - an alternative to Einstein's theory - eliminates the need for dark matter. To test it, astronomers measured gravity around 33,000 galaxies.

Parts of brain sleep, wake up, all day

New research finds that small regions of your brain cycle in and out of sleep, even when you're awake.

Landing on Mars is hard

Mars' atmospheric pressure is less than 1% that of Earth, so spacecraft come down hard. Europe has been trying for a Mars' soft landing since 2003. How they plan to succeed.

Human ancestor Lucy a tree climber

Lucy lived 3.18 million years ago in what's now Ethiopia. An analysis of high-resolution CT scans of her fossilized skeleton shows she was equipped for climbing trees.

The circadian rhythm of our microbes

Like most life on Earth, our gut microbes have their own circadian rhythm. Disrupting that daily routine can be bad - and keeping it in balance can be good - for whole body.

Hurricane risk to US northeast coast

Due to shifting weather patterns, the northeastern coast of the United Sates could see more frequent and more powerful hurricanes in the future, says new research.

2016-17 winter outlook for US

NOAA's outlook for this winter predicts a warmer, drier South, and cooler, wetter North. Drought is expected to persist in California and expand in the Southeast.

Children depict scientists as men

In a recent study, when researchers asked children to draw a scientist, the children most often depicted a bald, middle-aged man in a white coat. More study results here.

IAU approves 227 star names

The International Astronomical Union - which has given itself responsibility to name and define things in space - has now joined the rest of us in recognizing traditional star names.

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