Phil Plait

Bad Astronomy

Onion foxy, Fox stinks

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Researchers have used these cells from foreskin to heal stubborn wounds and test revolutionary drugs. In the future, they may aid in repairing organs. 

Why Human Foreskin Is a Hot Commodity in Science

Asteroids

Over a million asteroids are zipping around the Sun. Here’s what you should know about our distant neighbors.

Asteroids: What They Are and Where They Come From

Oort Cloud

The entirely theoretical cloud of icy space debris marks the frontiers of our solar system. 

Mysteries of the Oort Cloud at the Edge of Our Solar System

Grissom gives the thumbs-up to Hunt Club 1 in this stacked, enhanced image during recovery operations. The dye from the dye marker canister is also visible in the surrounding waters.
(Credit: NASA/Andy Saunders. Source: Stephen Slater)


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Sixty years later, we present a plausible explanation for one of the most enduring mysteries of the space race.

Did Static Electricity — Not Gus Grissom — Blow the Hatch of the Liberty Bell 7 Spacecraft?

(Credit: Luca Bindi and Paul J. Steinhardt)

Red trinitite

Scientists once thought their structures impossible. Now, the discovery of the oldest man-made quasicrystal could expand the world of nuclear forensics.

The First Atomic Bomb Created This ‘Forbidden’ Quasicrystal 

Close-up of 3D microscopic blue bacteria

Microbes are really good at eating a range of substances, so humans are putting them to work cleaning up our messes — and our art. 

Onion foxy, Fox stinks

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