The 5,000-plus alien worlds are diverse. Some are small and rocky. Others are gas giants that dwarf Jupiter. Some exoplanets orbit two stars at once, while others orbit long-dead stars. So far, the confirmed exoplanets break down into: 30 percent gas giants, 35 percent Neptune-like dark and icy worlds, and 31 percent super-Earths (planets up to 10 times Earth’s mass but smaller than Neptune’s). Just 4 percent are rocky planets comparable in size to Earth or Mars....

Schools and businesses continue to grapple with how to reopen safely as the pandemic still spikes in areas around the country. Reopening anywhere in the United States remains complicated as researchers continue to uncover new ways in which the virus spreads. Still, cases are down in select parts of the country. Here’s everything you might have missed this week. People who don’t show symptoms of COVID-19 still carry high levels of the virus in their respiratory systems Since the start of the pandemic, researchers have suspected that some folks who don’t display the typical symptoms of the novel coronavirus, like dry cough, fever, and shortness of breath, could still carry the virus in their respiratory systems and spread it around....

While all 50 states previously enacted laws that include felony provisions for animal cruelty cases, the new bill is still important for the enforcement of animal rights. It allows prosecutors and federal law enforcement to address animal abuse cases that cross state lines as well as prosecute animal torture cases that occur on federal property. The law may also funnel additional resources towards investigating animal welfare. “With today’s act, we take the critical step toward being more responsible stewards of our planet, and all who we want to cherish and take care of,” said Trump at the bill signing ceremony....

In the war against head trauma in football, one of the most vexing problems has been how to identify and treat a condition known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. CTE is a form of brain damage that’s caused by multiple blows to the head and is believed to be the culprit in the high-profile suicides of former players such as Junior Seau, of the San Diego Chargers, and Dave Duerson, of the Chicago Bears....

It’s a familiar story for those of a certain generation: As a kid growing up in the 1960s, Roger N. Clark was inspired by the NASA space program. By the time he was in junior high, he built his own reflecting telescope (grinding the primary mirror himself, no less). Clark pursued a career in astronomy, earning a doctorate in planetary science from M.I.T. He has been on the science team of the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn since its inception over 20 years ago, and has worked with scopes as big as UKIRT, the U....

The four bright ones—Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and Venus—are pretty easy to spot, if you’ve got a star chart in hand. Venus, for example, will be the brightest thing up there (apart from the moon). Mercury is a little trickier, because it’s easily lost in the light of the soon-to-rise sun. The planets should be visible from just about anywhere on the globe (though not from the North Pole), and the view will last until mid-February, if tomorrow’s too cold for you....

The South African Medical Research Council posted a report on Saturday outlining early Omicron cases from several hospitals. They found that patients infected with the Omicron strain tended to have less severe disease—most of the hospitalized patients did not need supplemental oxygen, a few developed COVID pneumonia, and fewer still required intensive care. “The signals are a bit encouraging” but Omicron’s risk profile is still incomplete, Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN on Sunday....

The fossil teeth were first unearthed in the late 1970s in northwestern Bulgaria in coal deposits that blackened the chompers. Because the Bulgarian National Museum of National History did not clearly list the specimens in their catalog of fossilized treasures, they remained untouched in storage until an accidental discovery by staff 40 years later. “They had only one label written vaguely by hand,” Nikolai Spassov, a paleontologist and museum professor at Sofia University in California, explained in a press release....

This historic first sample drop contained a chalk-size core of igneous rock that is informally named Malay. The sample was collected on January 31, 2022 in a region of Mars’ Jezero Crater called South Séítah. According to NASA, it took Perseverance’s complex Sampling and Caching System almost an hour to retrieve the metal tube from inside the rover’s belly, take one last look with its internal CacheCam, and then drop the sample about 3 feet onto a carefully selected patch of Martian ground....

Baltimore checkerspot (above) Studying caterpillars can reveal other minutiae of the natural world. For example, this polka-dotted larva’s favorite food, the pink-flowered white turtlehead, has grown increasingly scarce along the East Coast. That’s prompted Euphydryas phaeton to dine on its distant cousin, English plantain, which suggests the flora are more closely related than believed. Pine devil These aptly named insects live on only a few coniferous species and blend into the barbed texture of the branches with their spiky horns....

Download the podcast episode here, or subscribe to the iTunes feed. Don’t party blindly! Before you listen to the ‘cast, make sure to check out the article: “The Personal Tilt-Rotor.” Also! Check out our exclusive footage of the plane here.

As we learned from a compelling video teaser trailer last year, the popular gaming franchise that started on the Game Boy back in 1996 is taking things to more modern handheld devices, namely: iOS and Android. And with the game presumably relying on augmented reality to depict Pokémon in the real world, the game will undoubtedly be a huge one for the series. But when will Pokémon Go launch? The Pokémon Company continues to keep that information close to the chest, but some knowledge on the matter has slipped....

“Pollution is still the largest existential threat to human and planetary health and jeopardizes the sustainability of modern societies. Preventing pollution can also slow climate change—achieving a double benefit for planetary health—and our report calls for a massive, rapid transition away from all fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy,” co-author Philip Landrigan, director of the Global Public Health Program and Global Pollution Observatory at Boston College, said in a press release this week....

Now, a team of Chinese researchers has discovered a protein complex—a “chemical compass,” as the scientists call it—that lines up with magnetic fields, according to a study published today in Nature Materials. The complex might hold the key to animals’ magnetic-sensing power. The researchers set out in search of the chemical compass, and previous studies had suggested that cryptochromes–proteins that are light-sensitive and known to regulate the circadian rhythm of many plants and animals–might be involved in sensing magnetic fields....

But an important question remains: is the recovered booster in good enough shape to fly again? If it needs a lot of repairing, that would reduce the savings. On Friday, a test fire at SpaceX’s Cape Caveral launchpad revealed a preliminary answer. “That booster is in great shape,” Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX vice president of mission assurance, said at a press conference. “We inspected it. We found nothing out of order....

Heck, the airplane had barely been invented when these feckless stuntmen (and one stuntwoman) decided to test the limits of aerial acrobatics. Check out this archive gallery for a terrifying headstand, an in-air engine repair, and a very windy game of tennis. See the gallery.

There are also desk pads that come with additional features, like the KeySmart TaskPad Wireless Charging Desk Pad. Equal parts sleek and functional, it’s a welcome addition to any desk with its scratch-proof material and built-in wireless charger. For a limited time, you can grab it on sale for an extra 15 percent off during our January Sale with code JAN15. Upgrading your workspace doesn’t necessarily have to entail buying new gear....

Different devices require different dongles and plugs, making on-the-go charging a bulky and messy affair. But if you don’t want to deal with various peripherals when you’re out and about, the MagStack is a great companion. This on-the-go wireless station can refuel multiple devices simultaneously and can even be transformed into a floating stand when not used for charging. You can grab it on sale for 35 percent off for a limited time....

Manatees, also known as sea cows, are gentle, slow-moving herbivores that like to paddle about in shallow, slow-moving rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, canals, and coastal areas. In the US, they can be spotted anywhere from Texas to Massachusetts, but they are mostly seen in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina in the summer, and Florida in the winter. Elsewhere, they can be found in the shallow waterways of Central America and along the north coast of South America....