Our favorite books of 2020 covered climate change, Mars, the end of the universe and more
In a year when the coronavirus pandemic dominated the news, these books were a welcomed distraction.
More from Science News
How Kenyans help themselves and the planet by saving mangrove trees
Communities in Kenya took action to restore their coastal mangrove forests, reaping economic and environmental benefits. Others are following suit.
Comb jellies have a bizarre nervous system unlike any other animal
A 3-D map of the comb jelly “nerve net” reveals fused neurons that lack the space, or synapses, most neurons use to communicate. Did it evolve independently?
Methane may not warm the Earth quite as much as previously thought
Methane absorbs both longwave and shortwave radiation, with competing effects on climate, a study finds. The gas remains a potent warmer of the planet.
«These thicker low-level clouds reflect more of the sun’s shortwave radiation back out to space»
Your brain wires itself to match your native language
MRI scans of nearly 100 native speakers of either German or Arabic revealed differences in how the language circuits of their brains are connected.
«Every human language expresses itself using a different set of tricks. Some use rich systems of suffixes and prefixes to build enormous, dense words. Others change how words sound or how they are arranged within phrases to create meaning»
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