Science
Last light for the Kepler space telescope
By Bryan Dyne, 1 December 2018
The first and most productive space telescope designed to find planets beyond our Solar System has been retired after exhausting its fuel supply.
NASA InSight mission successfully lands on Mars
By Bryan Dyne, 28 November 2018
InSight will spend the next two years studying the tectonic activity, internal heat flow and interior rotation of the Red Planet.
World vertebrate populations have fallen 60 percent since 1970
By Bryan Dyne, 1 November 2018
The latest Living Planet Report demonstrates the far-reaching implications of human activity on both the climate and the degradation of the natural environment.
Japanese space agency lands two rovers on surface of asteroid
By Bryan Dyne, 26 September 2018
Although an asteroid was first landed on in 2001, the Japanese Hayabusa2 mission is the first to successfully deploy rovers on the surface of one.
Waste plastics poison the food chain and contribute to global warming
By Philip Guelpa, 7 September 2018
A variety of recent research highlights the ways in which the huge amounts of discarded plastic products are harmful to the environment and human health.
NASA spacecraft launched for close-up study of the Sun
By Bryan Dyne, 13 August 2018
The Parker Solar Probe spacecraft has begun its three-month journey to get closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft.
Evidence of liquid water lakes under polar ice caps on Mars
By Bryan Dyne, 26 July 2018
The previous 54 years of Mars space exploration have laid the groundwork for this remarkable discovery.
Global warming will increase the severity of hurricanes
By Philip Guelpa, 21 July 2018
Superstorms like Hurricane Harvey are now predicted to occur once every 16 years, rather than once every 100 years.
Large Hadron Collider resumes operations
By Joe Mount, 4 July 2018
Several results from the accelerator have been published in the last 12 months, including recent and more detailed studies of the Higgs boson.
Physics, poetry and the search for quantum gravity: Carlo Rovelli’s Reality Is Not What It Seems
By Bryan Dyne, 29 June 2018
Rovelli’s works on modern physics combine a materialist approach to science with a popular approach of explanation that is informed by a knowledge of literature and philosophy.
Martian dust storm covers the entire planet
By Bryan Dyne, 25 June 2018
The Curiosity rover and the constellation of satellites orbiting Mars are using the storm to study Martian weather and climate.
Climate scientists warn about “methane time bomb”
By Matthew MacEgan, 23 May 2018
Climate scientists are warning that human-driven atmospheric changes could lead to a mass extinction event rivaling the one that killed the dinosaurs.
Study finds alarming decline in biodiversity worldwide
By Philip Guelpa, 14 May 2018
The increasingly rapid loss of plant and animal species threatens a sixth mass global extinction.
Some early modern populations in Britain may have had dark skin
By Philip Guelpa, 22 March 2018
Recently published research suggests that Mesolithic Britons may have had dark skin, but the science is unsettled.
Cosmologist Stephen Hawking dies at 76
By Bryan Dyne, 15 March 2018
Hawking, who lived much of his life debilitated by Lou Gehrig’s disease, was one of the world’s most significant cosmologists and a renowned popularizer of physics.
Scientists produce new treatment to block the development of breast cancer
By Benjamin Mateus, 17 February 2018
A team of researchers successfully used an inhibitor called HET0016 to block a chemical known as 20-HETE, which can promote the growth of breast cancer cells.
Falcon Heavy launch marks new stage in the privatization—and perversion—of space exploration
By Don Barrett and Patrick Martin, 9 February 2018
The new rocket has two purposes, neither of them connected with the advance of science: to boost the wealth of billionaire Elon Musk, and to expand the military arsenal of the Pentagon.
“Big Sugar” and metabolic syndrome, killers of millions annually worldwide
By Gary Joad, 2 February 2018
Mass consumption of excessive quantities of sugar plays a major rolein adolescent and adult diabetes, heart disease, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and cancer, a fact that has long been suppressed by the industry and federal agencies.
Explore the complexities and beauty of Earth’s oceans in Blue Planet II
By Bryan Dyne, 22 January 2018
The series is a vindication of what can be achieved with scientifically coordinated and socially progressive human activity.
Insights into a new class of HIV retroviral drugs
By Benjamin Mateus, 30 December 2017
Recent investigation into the process of the HIV virus capsid maturation suggests a new method of disrupting its ability to infect.
The roots of intelligence: What the study of whales and dolphins can reveal about the basis of human intelligence
By Philip Guelpa, 12 December 2017
Both humans and cetaceans have large and highly developed brains as well as sophisticated social behaviors.
Genetic study demonstrates that racial classification by skin color has no scientific basis
By Philip Guelpa, 9 November 2017
Skin color is controlled by multiple genes, each with many variants, which have deep evolutionary origins and are widely dispersed across human populations, irrespective of “racial” categories.
Brazil cuts science budget amid mounting yellow fever threat
By Miguel Andrade, 8 November 2017
Brazil’s Science Ministry is facing a 44 percent funding cut by the end of 2017 and another reduction of 15 percent for 2018.
Trump administration silences government environmental scientists
By Daniel de Vries, 27 October 2017
The EPA ordered three agency scientists to cancel long planned talks this week which were related to climate change.
Neutron star merger observed through gravitational waves and light
By Don Barrett, 18 October 2017
The initial detections by the LIGO, Virgo and Fermi collaborations were followed up by observations involving more than 3,500 astronomers.
Observation of gravitational waves wins Nobel Prize in physics
By Bryan Dyne, 6 October 2017
The announcement comes seven weeks after the detection of the fourth gravitational wave by the two Advanced LIGO detectors and the Advanced Virgo detector.
FDA recommends approval of new leukemia treatment
By Benjamin Mateus, 23 September 2017
This is the first time that white blood cells have been successfully engineered to fight off a cancer.
The legacy of the Cassini spacecraft
By Don Barrett, 16 September 2017
After 20 years of insights into Saturn, its rings, its moons and the Solar System as a whole, Cassini’s mission has ended.
Inherited genetic disorder corrected in human embryos
By Benjamin Mateus, 2 September 2017
New research in the study of the human genome has provided a new way to reduce or potentially eliminate inherited genetic disorders by correcting harmful genetic mutations while the subject is still an embryo.
Millions travel to view 2017 total solar eclipse
By Don Barrett, 21 August 2017
The first solar eclipse in 99 years to cross the whole of the continental United States has attracted interest among millions of people.
Will the Trump administration censor climate scientists?
By Daniel de Vries, 15 August 2017
A draft of an authoritative federal study by US scientists was released amid fear of suppression.
Curiosity rover marks fifth year on Mars
By Bryan Dyne, 9 August 2017
This year also marks the 20th anniversary of NASA’s Pathfinder mission, which paved the way for all subsequent Mars landers and rovers.
Evidence of early rice domestication found in southern China
By Philip Guelpa, 25 July 2017
The process of rice domestication by humans involved a range of social and technological adjustments associated with increasing reliance on a particular food source.
Albert Einstein’s life, or parts of it, in the first season of National Geographic’s Genius
By Bryan Dyne, 20 July 2017
The 10-episode season depicts the life of one of the most renowned scientists in world history without paying much attention to the science he developed.
Climate change and the struggle against capitalism
By Patrick Martin, 14 July 2017
The main obstacles to a rational climate policy are capitalist private ownership of the means of production and the division of the world into rival nation-states.
Scientists warn of “biological annihilation” as Earth’s mass extinction accelerates
By Josh Varlin, 12 July 2017
A scientific study published Monday concludes that the planet is already seeing its sixth mass extinction—the first since humans evolved.
Evolutionary divergence between apes and humans may have occurred in Europe, not Africa
By Philip Guelpa, 8 June 2017
Fossil specimens from Greece and Bulgaria may represent very early members of the hominin lineage.
New evidence for life-capable environments on Saturn’s moon Enceladus
By Bryan Dyne, 6 June 2017
The Cassini spacecraft has uncovered molecular hydrogen in material erupting from the subsurface ocean of Saturn’s moon.
Poisoned Water: “NOVA” science series broadcasts segment on Flint water crisis
By James Brewer, 3 June 2017
The Public Broadcasting Service presented an engaging and informative documentary on the science behind the Flint water crisis.
New dating of Homo naledi fossil alters its position in the human evolutionary tree
By Philip Guelpa, 19 May 2017
A South African fossil hominin raises many intriguing questions about how the dialectic of technology, environment, and physical and intellectual development played out in human evolution.
The global cyberattack, the NSA and Washington’s war propaganda against Russia
By Bill Van Auken, 15 May 2017
The cyberattack that hit some 200,000 computers around the world, using malicious software developed by the US National Security Agency, is only expected to escalate and spread in the coming days.
Brazil’s science march and the role of nationalism and the military
By Miguel Andrade, 3 May 2017
Military interests have cast a shadow for almost a century over the scientific community in Brazil.
Researchers claim evidence that humans were in the Americas 130,000 years ago
By Matthew MacEgan, 1 May 2017
This claim is receiving wide attention because it is 115,000 years earlier than any date previously suggested for the peopling of the western hemisphere, based on existing evidence.
Climate scientist Michael Mills describes the devastation of a nuclear detonation
People get “melted into burning pools of fat”
By Bryan Dyne, 27 April 2017
Michael Mills has spent nearly a decade modeling the climatic effects of what the US military would consider a “limited nuclear war.”
More voices of the March for Science
By our reporters, 26 April 2017
Dozens of scientists, students, workers and other supporters of science spoke with Socialist Equality Party supporters during marches on April 22.
Voices of the March for Science
By our reporters, 25 April 2017
Dozens of scientists, students, workers and other supporters of science spoke with Socialist Equality Party supporters during marches on April 22.
Hundreds of thousands march worldwide to defend science
By Patrick Martin, 24 April 2017
More than 600 marches and protests were held in support of the main demonstration in Washington, DC, which drew about 75,000 people.
Science protests held across Canada
By our reporters, 24 April 2017
Demonstrations took place in 18 towns and cities across Canada on Saturday in conjunction with the global March for Science, including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and many regional and university towns.
Thousands march in London in defence of science
By our reporters, 24 April 2017
One demonstrator said, “I think a discussion of science in terms of socialism is necessary and we need some real debates about what kind of political model fits science best.”
Germany: Thousands participate in protests in defence of science
By our reporters, 24 April 2017
Protests took place in at least 20 German cities, with the biggest in Berlin, attended by 8,000 participants.
Thousands join March for Science demonstrations in Australia
By our reporters, 24 April 2017
In contrast to the concerns of protestors, rally organisers sought to sow illusions about pressuring governments to withdraw their attacks on science.
Hundreds of thousands to participate in worldwide “March for Science”
By Bryan Dyne, 22 April 2017
Scientists, researchers, workers and youth are marching today in at least 130 countries encompassing six continents in the world’s largest pro-science demonstration to date.
“To the staff of the WSWS and its readers”
A response from a scientist to “Science and socialism”
22 April 2017
The defense of science cannot take place on the basis of either skepticism about wide layers of the population or American nationalism.
The issues posed by the worldwide March for Science
Science and Socialism
By the Socialist Equality Party, 20 April 2017
Hundreds of thousands of scientists and other professionals, together with students and working people, will take part this Saturday in the worldwide March for Science.
“In a nuclear war between the US and Russia, everybody in the world would die”
Nuclear experts speak on the dangers of war between the US and Russia
By Bryan Dyne and Barry Grey, 15 April 2017
The World Socialist Web Site recently spoke with Steven Starr and Greg Mello, both experts on the consequences of nuclear war.
Spectrum of anti-hydrogen observed
By Joe Mount, 13 April 2017
Initial results from the ALPHA-2 experiment show that matter and antimatter differ by at most 200 parts per trillion.
New discovery sheds light on the deep roots of the Agricultural Revolution
By Philip Guelpa, 27 March 2017
The discovery of 23,000-year-old tools used to harvest cereal grains in northern Israel adds to our understanding of the processes leading to the development of agriculture.
The discovery of a system with seven “Earth-like” exoplanets
By Bryan Dyne, 24 February 2017
The discovery of the new planetary system was based on collaboration towards a common goal whose driving force was the pursuit of knowledge, not the amassing of personal wealth.
Federal employees resist administration attempts to impose media gags
By Bryan Dyne, 3 February 2017
Scientists at various government agencies are concerned that any mention of climate science will be silenced.
Nuclear winter—the long-suppressed reality of nuclear war
An interview with scientist and anti-nuclear activist Steven Starr
By Bryan Dyne, 19 January 2017
The World Socialist Web Site recently interviewed Steven Starr, an expert on the dangers of nuclear war.
Some significant scientific developments of 2016
By Joe Mount, 4 January 2017
Scientific advances during the past year shed light on a variety of topics, from the nature of space and time to the increasingly dire state of Earth’s environment.
Great Barrier Reef suffering worst-ever coral bleaching
By Bryan Dyne, 30 December 2016
Global warming has caused the worst destruction of corals ever recorded on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Planet Earth II: David Attenborough narrates the dramas of life a second time
By Bryan Dyne, 16 December 2016
The BBC documentary explores how life has evolved and adapted across islands, mountains, jungles, deserts, grasslands and cities.
New dinosaur discovery in Myanmar includes feathers
By Matthew MacEgan, 13 December 2016
Researchers recently discovered a dinosaur tail encased within a chunk of amber where its bones, muscle, ligaments, skin, and feathers remain intact.
Record-low sea ice as Arctic temperatures soar
By Daniel de Vries, 22 November 2016
Never since satellite monitoring began in the late 1970s has such little ice covered the polar seas this time of year.
Vertebrate species populations in dramatic decline
By Philip Guelpa, 1 November 2016
A study by the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London projects that by 2020 vertebrate species populations will have dropped by two thirds since 1970.
ExoMars mission has both success and failure
By Bryan Dyne, 21 October 2016
The Trace Gas Orbiter successfully entered orbit but data indicates that the Schiaparelli probe crash-landed.
Rosetta spacecraft completes mission with crash landing into comet
By Bryan Dyne, 14 October 2016
The past two years of data from Rosetta have provided an unprecedented understanding of comets and the formation of our Solar System.
Nobel Prize in physics awarded for discoveries about condensed states of matter
By Bryan Dyne, 8 October 2016
The combination of the mathematics of topology and condensed matter physics is expected to lead directly to new types of materials and electronics.
New fossil discovery may date origin of life on Earth earlier than previously known
By Philip Guelpa, 27 September 2016
The discovery of what appear to be stromatolites dating to 3.7 billion years ago in southwestern Greenland suggests that life first evolved in the first 500 million years after Earth’s formation.
Warming of Earth proceeding at unprecedented pace
By Bryan Dyne, 3 September 2016
Temperature records from ice cores and sediments show that the current rate of global warming is faster than at any point in the past millennium.
Potentially Earth-like planet found in habitable zone of nearest star
By Don Barrett, 27 August 2016
The main differences between Earth and the newly discovered Proxima b are the very different physical characteristics of their respective parents’ stars.
Astronomers reveal most detailed map of galaxy distribution
By Joe Mount, 15 August 2016
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey has enabled scientists to make the most precise measurements yet of dark energy and the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe.
The anti-scientific character of “race” as a concept
By Philip Guelpa, 3 August 2016
A recent article in Science correctly demands the expulsion of race as a category from the study of human genetics.
One year since the New Horizons flyby of Pluto
By Bryan Dyne, 15 July 2016
During the past year, the NASA spacecraft has sent back images showing canyons, plains, mountains and evidence for liquid water on Pluto.
Juno spacecraft enters orbit around Jupiter
By Bryan Dyne, 5 July 2016
Juno’s mission will reveal the interior structure of Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, and answer significant questions about its formation.
Further steps in finding an Earth-like planet outside the solar system
By Bryan Dyne, 29 June 2016
The prospects of finding another planet similar to our own are steadily increasing.
Recent developments in science: Particle physics, climate science, galactic astronomy
Evidence hints at existence of fourth neutrino
By our reporters, 24 June 2016
If the discovery is confirmed, the fourth type of neutrino would be a new fundamental particle, one not currently described by the standard theories of particle physics.
Were Neanderthals architects?
By Philip Guelpa, 14 June 2016
Architectural features dating from over 176,000 years ago, found deep in a French cave, may have been built by Neanderthals.
El Niño and the acceleration of global warming
By Matthew MacEgan, 1 June 2016
The abnormally warm ocean waters caused by El Niño induce much more extreme weather patterns than normal, including droughts, cyclones, and floods.
Study warns of potentially catastrophic impacts from Antarctic ice melt
By Daniel de Vries, 5 April 2016
New research estimates that unabated warming may double the rate of expected sea level rise to nearly 2 meters by century’s end.
Recent developments in science: oceanography, neuroscience, planetary astronomy
Scientists use gravity to map Earth’s ocean floor
By our reporters, 18 March 2016
Previously undiscovered features found include an underwater mountain range in the Gulf of Mexico, a major fault line in the South Atlantic Ocean, many smaller hill-like features on the ocean floor and thousands of previously unknown underwater mountains and volcanoes.
New technologies expand knowledge of early art in North America
By Matthew MacEgan, 29 February 2016
Early art produced more than 8,000 years ago has been identified in several states and provinces in Canada, the United States and Mexico by using new photographic technology.
Alternative approach to nuclear fusion energy at German lab takes important first step
By Gregory McAvoy, 24 February 2016
The scientists and engineers who designed and built the device are attempting to show that a new type of reactor design could provide a more attainable path to commercial fusion power.
The detection of gravitational waves: A scientific milestone
By Bryan Dyne, 13 February 2016
The discovery of gravitational waves is a vindication of science and the ability of human reason to tackle and overcome the most complex problems.
Astronomers detect gravitational waves predicted by Einstein
By Will Morrow, 12 February 2016
The LIGO Collaboration has published the first direct detection of gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of space and time.
New research reveals effects of the Agricultural Revolution on human evolution
By Philip Guelpa, 15 January 2016
Several new studies highlight the dialectical interaction between the physical and genetic makeup of modern humans and the development of agriculture.
100 years of General Relativity—Part Three
By Bryan Dyne, 9 December 2015
This is the last part of a three-part series examining the history, science and implications of Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
Global warming compounds Atlantic cod fishing industry problems
By John Marion, 8 December 2015
Recent scientific studies point to the effects of global warming on Atlantic cod populations already reduced to historically low sizes by decades of overfishing.
100 years of General Relativity—Part Two
By Will Morrow, 8 December 2015
This is the second of a three-part series examining the history, science and lasting implications of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which remains, along with his special theory, one of the central pillars of modern physics.
100 years of General Relativity—Part One
By Don Barrett, 7 December 2015
This is the first of a three-part series examining the history, science and implications of Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
New genetic data show “Back to Africa” migration in Neolithic times
By Philip Guelpa, 23 October 2015
Analysis of ancient DNA from Ethiopia provides evidence of a “reflux” of Eurasian peoples into Africa between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago, contributing significantly to the modern African genome.
Strong evidence for liquid water flows on present-day Mars
By Bryan Dyne, 29 September 2015
The dark streaks observed on Mars are most likely salt deposits left behind from liquid water flows across the Martian surface.
Remains of a new species of early human discovered in South African cave
By Philip Guelpa, 14 September 2015
The recovery of remains of at least 15 members of an early human species provides an unprecedented mosaic of characteristics in a single population.
Discovery of the most Earth-like planet to date
By Don Barrett, 25 July 2015
At a time of the momentous discovery of planets around other stars, no money can be found to examine them.
Pluto and Earth
By Patrick Martin, 17 July 2015
The flyby of Pluto by the spacecraft New Horizons—a scientific achievement of the first order—stands in contrast to the seemingly intractable social crises on our own planet.
New Horizons spacecraft completes Pluto flyby
By Bryan Dyne, 15 July 2015
The Pluto encounter is the first time that a spacecraft has ever visited the distant world.
EPA study whitewashes the effects of fracking
By Philip Guelpa, 13 July 2015
The US EPA reports finding that the incidence of drinking water contamination due to hydraulic fracturing is low, but evidence of the danger of fracking continues to mount.
Scottish National Party’s Nicola Sturgeon in talks over fracking
By Steve James, 11 July 2015
Fracking is notorious for the threat it poses to ground water supplies, which can be contaminated with chemicals and by methane released from cracked wells.
New Horizons spacecraft prepares for Pluto flyby
By Bryan Dyne, 8 July 2015
Pluto, a world too small and distant to be seen in detail even with Earth’s best telescopes, is the farthest object explored by a space probe.
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