The Columbian

Science & Technology

This image provided by Qibin Zhao shows ghost catfish showing iridescent colors with a backlight. The ghost catfish has a see-through body that flickers with rainbow colors when the light hits it. Now, scientists have cracked the case of how the fish creates its iridescent glow.

Scientists shed light on fish’s rainbow shimmer

March 21, 2023, 6:00am Life

You can see right through this little aquarium fish from Thailand: Its skin is almost completely transparent. But when the light hits it just right, its body flickers with shimmering rainbow colors. Read story

Axiom Space chief engineer Jim Stein, left, demonstrates a prototype spacesuit Wednesday as deputy manager for extravehicular activity Russell Ralston explains features of the spacesuit in Houston (David J.

Moonwalkers to get new suits

March 21, 2023, 5:41am Life

Moonwalking astronauts will have sleeker, more flexible spacesuits that come in different sizes when they step onto the lunar surface later this decade. Read story

Washington teen keeps youth at root of environmental movement

March 20, 2023, 6:02am Life

On the morning of February 8, Maanit Goel donned a white T-shirt and black blazer, turned on his computer screen and faced the state Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee. Read story

Seagulls lay in the sand as Monica Madrigal finds her way to the ocean through a thick raft of Sargassum seaweed that washed up on the seashore on Miami Beach in 2020.

Massive seaweed blob heading to Fla.

March 18, 2023, 6:01am Life

A giant blob of seaweed, spanning 5,000 miles and weighing an estimated 6.1 million tons, threatens to blanket Florida beaches and Caribbean islands with smelly piles of decaying brown goop. Read story

New fungicide named for Keanu Reeves

March 10, 2023, 6:05am Entertainment

Fans are used to Keanu Reeves playing characters that kill their enemies. Read story

The inscription 'He is Odin's man' is seen in a round half circle over the head of a figure on a golden bracteate unearthed in Vindelev, Denmark in late 2020. Scientists have identified the oldest-known reference to the Norse god Odin on a gold disc unearthed in western Denmark.

Oldest reference to Norse god Odin found in Danish treasure

March 8, 2023, 8:12am Life

Scandinavian scientists said Wednesday that they have identified the oldest-known inscription referencing the Norse god Odin on part of a gold disc unearthed in western Denmark in 2020. Read story

This Feb. 2023 photo, issued on Tuesday March 7, 2023 by the University of Leicester, shows an archaeological dig in the grounds of Leicester Cathedral, which began in October 2021. Experts from the University of Leicester said Tuesday that they have uncovered what they believe to be a Roman shrine beneath a former graveyard in the grounds of a cathedral in central England.

Roman shrine uncovered beneath graveyard in central England

March 7, 2023, 8:07am Life

Archaeologists have uncovered what they believe to be a Roman shrine beneath a former graveyard in the grounds of a cathedral in central England. Read story

A macro shot of a mason bee (Osmia niveata) on a green leaf.

First giant hornets, now Houdini flies: Bees can’t catch a break in Washington

March 7, 2023, 7:37am Latest News

Let’s have a little sympathy for the native mason bees that have been getting more and more popular with backyard gardeners. Read story

Alex Arrow, a biological science technician, pours a bucket of juvenile chinook salmon back into Battle Creek, Calif., after counting them near Coleman National Fish Hatchery, in Anderson, last year. (Allen J.

California chinook salmon numbers fall

March 7, 2023, 6:05am Life

California chinook salmon populations have fallen to their lowest levels in years, according to new estimates released by state and federal scientists — a decline that could trigger a shutdown of the commercial and recreational fishing season along the coast. Read story