All Stories
- Science & Society
Here are the Top 10 times scientific imagination failed
Some scientists of the past couldn’t imagine that atoms or gravity waves could one day be studied – or nuclear energy harnessed.
- Anthropology
North America’s oldest skull surgery dates to at least 3,000 years ago
Bone regrowth suggests the man, who lived in what’s now Alabama, survived a procedure to treat brain swelling by scraping a hole out of his forehead.
- Microbes
New images reveal details of two bacteria’s molecular syringes
It’s unclear exactly how these species use their tiny injectors, but learning how they work could lead to nanodevices that target specific bacteria.
- Animals
Invasive jorō spiders get huge and flashy — if they’re female
Taking the pulse (literally) of female jorō spiders hints that the arachnid might push farther north than a relative that has stayed put in the South.
- Animals
How scientists found an African bat lost to science for 40 years
African researchers had been searching for the Hill’s horseshoe bat since 2013. Now, the first recording of its echolocation call may help find more.
- Health & Medicine
‘Vagina Obscura’ shows how little is known about female biology
The new book ‘Vagina Obscura’ chronicles how scientists are finally giving female health and anatomy proper attention.
- Climate
Wally Broecker divined how the climate could suddenly shift
Wally Broecker’s insight into the shutdown of the great ocean conveyor belt spurred the study of abrupt climate change.
- Chemistry
Grainy ice cream is unpleasant. Plant-based nanocrystals might help
The growth of large ice crystals in ice cream produces a coarse texture. A cellulose nanocrystal stabilizer could help keep the unwelcome iciness away.
- Anthropology
Social mingling shapes how orangutans issue warning calls
The new findings hint at how modern language may have taken root in sparse communities of ancient apes and humans.
- Life
How a virus turns caterpillars into zombies doomed to climb to their deaths
By manipulating genes used in vision, a virus sends its host caterpillar on a doomed quest for sunlight, increasing the chances for viral spread.
- Life
Lost genes may help explain how vampire bats survive on blood alone
The 13 identified genes underpin a range of physiological and behavioral strategies that the bats have evolved.
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50 years ago, scientists thought a desert shrub might help save endangered whales
Fifty years ago, scientists sought a sustainable alternative to prized oil from endangered sperm whales.
