Maria Temming | Science News for Students

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Maria Temming

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an illustration of Suskityrannus hazelae

At about 1 meter (39 inches) tall at the hip, the newly identified Suskityrannus hazelae (illustrated) suggests tyrannosaurs gained fearsome traits before they got really big.

Andrey Atuchin

 Fossils
This tiny dinosaur is officially T. rex’s cousin
Decades after it was discovered, this 92-million-year-old tyrannosaur finally has a family
a photo of STEVE's ourple and green streaks across the night sky

Satellite data are helping scientists figure out what’s going on with STEVE, a weird purple streak with green stripes that can glow in the night sky.

Lauri Kangas

 Astronomy
New insights on how STEVE lights up the night sky
Citizen scientists and satellite data reveal the phenomena behind the odd purple and green glow
a computer simulated image showing Earth and the lines of its magnetic field

New data suggest that humans may join birds, bacteria and certain other organisms in being able to sense Earth’s magnetic field (illustrated).

vjanez/iStock/Getty Images Plus

 Brain
People may indeed have a sixth sense — for magnetism
Brain waves hint that humans might possess an ability similar to that seen in some other animals
a photo of the ALMA array, a group of radio telescopes with large dishes

A network of telescopes across the globe — including ALMA in Chile (partially shown here) — teamed up to create the Event Horizon Telescope. It’s a virtual radio dish almost as big as Earth.

Carlos Padilla/AUI/NRAO

 Astronomy
It took a ‘virtual’ telescope to actually picture a black hole
The accomplishment relied on a network of radio telescopes spanning the globe
a photo showing a drill into the ice above Lake Mercer in Antarctica

Researchers drilled through a kilometer of ice above Lake Mercer in Antarctica. They found mud that contained carcasses of tiny animals resembling spiders, crustaceans, worms and water bears.

Billy Collins/SALSA Science Team

 Animals
Animal graveyard found in deeply buried Antarctic lake
Mud from Lake Mercer revealed tiny squashed creatures that resemble spiders and worms
cell-tweezers

These so-called tweezers can take out single molecules or structures from individual cells — such as mitochondria from nerve cells (illustrated here).

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

 Technology
Electro-tweezers let scientists safely probe cells
They allow repeated sampling of materials from the same living cell over time