All Stories
- Agriculture
Scientists say Beefalo are all beef, no -alo. Breeders disagree
A whole-genome analysis of Beefalo, a hybrid bison-cattle breed, suggests very few individuals have any bison DNA at all, a new study reports.
- Health & Medicine
Many U.S. teens underestimate fentanyl’s deadly risk
A majority of 8th-graders and roughly a third of 10th- and 12th-graders do not see great risk in using fentanyl once or twice, a study reports.
- Physics
Pickles glow when you plug them in. Science explains why
A scientist, a jar of pickles and a power strip walk into a room. The punchline involves physics, glowing condiments and a scientific party trick.
- Anthropology
‘Hobbits’ likely scavenged dragons’ kills
Homo floresiensis may have scavenged Komodo dragon leftovers instead of hunting small elephant relatives.
- Plants
Giant trees have tricks to work around drought
Samples collected at daring heights provide evidence for an untested theory of tree drought adaptation, while countering another.
- Life
The natural history of every U.S. state is on display at a new D.C. exhibit
The Smithsonian Natural History Museum’s latest exhibit, “From These Lands,” connects visitors with America’s natural history.
- Animals
The animal behind most aggressive wildlife encounters may surprise you
Analysis of 3,000 incidents in Canada reveals which animal–human activity combos are especially risky. Of note: Elk and campgrounds are a bad mix.
- Animals
Young gulls’ drab plumage may help them avoid adult attacks
Fake, painted decoys suggest immature coloring acts as a social signal, reducing aggression from territorial nesting gulls.
- Space
This space telescope is falling. A robotic spacecraft may save it
A private rocket mission aims to boost NASA’s Swift telescope before its orbit decays, extending its hunt for gamma-ray bursts.
- Animals
A new species of walking shark has been found in Papua New Guinea
Walking sharks crawl on their fins across reefs and even out into tide pools. The newfound Dudgeon walking shark brings the known species count to 10.
- Microbes
This microbe turns into a cannibalistic ‘Hulk’
Euplotes gigatrox’s shape-shifting may reveal how early life learned to act in surprisingly complex ways.
- Animals
Crabs can’t hide from an octopus with a mirror
New experiments show that octopuses can understand where an item is based solely on its reflection.
