New Horizons Newsroom 2015

Computer science shedding new light on black holes When it comes to black holes, a change in perspective can make all the difference. Standing outside one of these massive objects in the universe, for instance, there’s only d...

Light-driven controls could illuminate the circuitry of the brain “Brain control” brings to mind an image of evil scientists hidden away in a dark lab preparing an army of zombies to do their bidding. In reality, Edward Boyden, associ...

Guardians of the genome Evolution—the change in heritable traits over successive generations—has long served as one of the central tenets of biology. But new research indicates much can be gained from...

Blowing up biology To solve a problem, sometimes you need to consider the exact opposite of what you think you know. Take trying to see the minute details of biological units, such as neurons in the ...

The last first exploration of the solar system: into the Kuiper Belt How do you make the outer space equivalent of a golf putt from New York City to a soup can in Los Angeles? For Alan Stern, it takes 11 years of lobbying, four years of planning and...

Mapping the Earth’s microbiomes: federal agencies join forces to explore the microbial world Microbes are organisms that are invisible to the naked eye. They surround us but usually go unnoticed. Now the federal government has a new focus on microbes, said Jo Handelsman, a...

Hello, is it me you’re looking for? Sara Seager’s quest for living worlds in space Unlike the early explorers who sailed vast oceans to reach faraway shores, planetary scientist Sara Seager will never set foot on new lands she may discover. Her goal is to find ha...

To Pluto and beyond: a journey to the outer reaches of the solar system On Jan. 19, 2006, a powerful Atlas V rocket thundered off from Florida carrying NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. It got relatively little public attention. But its acceleration wa...

Need to survive in a tough environment? There’s an app for that For Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Penny Chisholm, the most exciting apps will not download to your phone. Only bacteria can run them. Chisholm studies a group of ...

The mighty microbes: White House initiative recognizes the huge impact of tiny bugs The federal government has assembled a fast-track committee to encourage research into microorganisms, reflecting their increasingly important role in human health and the Earth’...

Tiny is the new huge: microthrusters for miniature satellites The new big thing in space is small—cubesats. A miniature satellite or cubesat is a box a few inches on a side, around a liter in volume and weighing about as much as a medium-si...

Homelessness and aging: where 50 is the new 75 Many Americans live one paycheck away from street homelessness, and those most at risk may be older, according to new research presented at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Oc...

Solving a biological puzzle: why some genes never change A mysterious discovery has stumped scientists who study genetics at the cellular level for over a decade. Our genome, or collection of genes, has undergone many evolutionary change...

An earthlike home… far, far away Imagine a planet where the surface temperature is so hot that rocks melt into lava—or another where two suns dip below the horizon at dusk. Settings for a science fiction plot? N...

With the population on the streets aging, homelessness mimics a chronic disease Homelessness is like other chronic medical problems: in need of a cure. That realization came to Margot Kushel as she was working as a resident physician at San Francisco General ...