- Question of
Physicists at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) made the second-ever observation of gravitational waves. What triggered the pulse?
- Two black holes colliding
- Two neutron stars merging
- Two stars going supernova
- An explosion in a dilithium mine on Ceti Alpha 6
- Question of
In another region of space, an Earth-like planet was found this year orbiting our nearest stellar neighbor. Who is that neighbor?
- Sirius
- Polaris
- Proxima Centauri
- Beta Taco
- Question of
Back on Earth, scientists discovered that chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans may share this very special trait with humans:
- The ability to bake bread
- The ability to make metal tools
- The ability to “read minds”
- The ability to use Snapchat
- Question of
Genomic studies all but proved that most people living outside Africa descended from this many “waves” of migrants:
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Question of
In another major breakthrough, scientists created a designer suite of these molecules from scratch:
- Nucleic acids
- Carbohydrates
- Polyphenols
- Proteins
- Question of
Scientists created something last year: babies born from egg cells grown entirely in a lab. What species did the egg cells come from?
- Humans
- Mice
- Zebrafish
- Jellyfish
- Question of
Several studies this year revealed a relatively simple way to extend life span. What is it?
- Capping DNA telomeres
- Selectively killing old cells
- Injecting stem cells into spinal fluid
- Making a vision board
- Question of
Google’s artificial intelligence program AlphaGo beat world champion Lee Sedol in a man-versus-machine match of what game?
- Chess
- Checkers
- Parcheesi
- Go
- Question of
A pocket-sized version of this machine is revolutionizing biology:
- Electroencephalography machines
- MRI machines
- Faraday cages
- DNA sequencers
- Question of
Why did blue whales grow to such monstrous sizes?
- To fend off megapredators
- To store massive amounts of oxygen for diving
- To amplify their long-distance love songs
- To exploit an ice age explosion of krill
- Question of
Last year, a new study revealed what surprising fact about hospital-acquired infections?
- Most come from hospital sinks
- Most come from patients themselves
- Most are impervious to hand sanitizers
- Most can be cured by enzymes in mouse saliva
- Question of
Over the last 25 years, insect populations in some parts of Germany have dropped by nearly:
- 20%
- 50%
- 80%
- 90%
- Question of
NASA found molecular hydrogen – a key ingredient for life as we know it – on which of our solar system’s moons?
- Enceladus
- Europa
- Ganymede
- Charon
- Question of
Scientists now suspect that almost half a million years ago, ice age waterfalls cut off this current island from the rest of its continent:
- Iceland
- Cuba
- Japan
- Great Britain
- Question of
A new study shows that artificial intelligence (AI) has become more like humans in this way:
- It can accurately interpret body language
- It can “forget” birthdays and anniversaries
- It can pretend to agree with programmers
- It can buy into stereotypes
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