All Stories

Animals

Jumping spiders’ remarkable senses capture a world beyond our perception

Clever experiments and new technology are taking scientists deep into the lives of jumping spiders, and opening a portal to their experience of the world.

Health & Medicine

What does the first successful test of a pig-to-human kidney transplant mean?

For the first time, a pig organ was successfully attached to a human patient. It’s a step toward vastly increasing the supply of organs.

Life

How these sea-loving mangroves ended up far from the coast

On the Yucatán Peninsula, mangroves trapped nearly 200 kilometers from the ocean are part of a “relict ecosystem” that’s more than 100,000 years old.

Anthropology

Lasers reveal construction inspired by ancient Mexican pyramids in Maya ruins

Archaeologists have uncovered structures in Guatemala that are remarkably similar to La Ciudadela and its temple at the ancient city of Teotihuacan.

Animals

Tuskless elephants became common as an evolutionary response to poachers

After poachers tore through a Mozambican elephant population, tuskless females tripled in number as humans altered the species’s evolutionary trajectory.

Paleontology

Some dinosaurs may have lived in herds as early as 193 million years ago

A fossilized family gathering of long-necked Mussaurus may be the earliest evidence yet of herd behavior in dinosaurs.

Animals

Scientists found modern domestic horses’ homeland in southwestern Russia

Two genes tied to endurance and docility may help explain the horses’ success in spreading across Eurasia.

Archaeology

Vikings lived in North America by at least the year 1021

Wooden objects provide the most precise dating yet of a Norse settlement in Newfoundland.

Physics

Here’s the physics of why ducklings swim in a row behind their mother

By paddling in just the right spots, ducklings save energy by surfing their mom’s waves, and pass along the benefit to siblings down the line.

Health & Medicine

Here’s what we know about booster shots for Moderna’s and J&J’s COVID-19 vaccines

Immunity against the coronavirus is waning, but additional doses of the same or different COVID-19 vaccines could help protect vulnerable people.

Animals

An agile gecko found in India named after the legendary Jackie Chan

A hard-to-catch gecko species is named after martial artist Jackie Chan. Skin patterns, like one resembling a galaxy, inspire other newfound geckos’ names.

Health & Medicine

COVID-19 testing in schools works. So why aren’t more doing it?

School COVID-19 testing programs can keep kids in class and safe, but face challenges ranging from deciding on a testing strategy to parental buy-in.