The Watchers team and our contributors bring the latest on extreme weather, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, space weather, and all things science. We're all about making sense of the natural world and keeping you informed on what’s happening. Got a tip or a question? Hit us up using the form at newstips!
Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have found a way to efficiently edit the human genome one letter at a time. The discovery is boosting researchers' ability to model human disease, and paving the way for therapies that cure disease by fixing these
Current weather patterns are changing, we are constantly told by everyone from President Obama during his most recent State of the Union Address on down through various academic circles. And few of us dispute that; weather, after all, changes over time, as
In a new online paper titled Information Preservation and Weather Forecasting for Black Holes, the 72-year-old scientist Stephen Hawking says, "There are no black holes — in the sense from which light can't escape to infinity."
The
A genetic study of adult twins and a community-based study of adolescents both report novel links between sleep duration and depression. The studies are published in the February 1 issue of the journal Sleep.
"Healthy sleep is a necessity for physical,
Jakobshavn Isbræ (Jakobshavn Glacier) is moving ice from the Greenland ice sheet into the ocean at a speed that appears to be the fastest ever recorded. Researchers from the University of Washington and the German Space Agency (DLR) measured the dramatic speeds
Solar physicists around the world today are wondering: has the Sun fallen silent? In 2013, the Sun began the peak phase of its 11-year sun spot cycle called the Solar Maximum when sunspot production should be at its highest. However, the lack of sunspot activity has
Our solar system seems like a neat and orderly place, with small, rocky worlds near the Sun and big, gaseous worlds farther out, all eight planets following orbital paths unchanged since they formed.
However, the true history of the solar system is more riotous.
Oxford University researchers have identified an area of the human brain that appears unlike anything in the brains of some of our closest relatives.
The brain area pinpointed is known to be intimately involved in some of the most advanced planning and
A quick glance at two, unequal groups of paper clips (or other objects) leads most people to immediately intuit which group has more. In a new study, researchers report that practicing this kind of simple, instinctive numerical exercise can improve children's
Vietnam War veterans with prior exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange may be at higher risk for certain types of skin cancer, suggests a report in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American
