All Stories
- Health & Medicine
Does eating ultraprocessed food affect weight gain? It’s complicated
Laying off ultraprocessed foods and switching to whole foods may help some people manage their weight, a small study finds.
- Animals
Some dog breeds may have trouble breathing because of a mutated gene
Norwich terriers don’t have flat snouts, but can suffer the same wheezing as bulldogs. It turns out that a gene mutation tied to swelling could be to blame.
- Life
Bloodthirsty bedbugs have feasted on prey for 100 million years
Research sheds light on the evolutionary history of the bloodsucking bedbugs. The first species evolved at least as early as the Cretaceous, scientists say.
- Anthropology
Fossil teeth push the human-Neandertal split back to about 1 million years ago
A study of fossilized teeth shifts the age of the last common ancestor between Neandertals and humans.
- Planetary Science
China’s lunar rover may have found minerals from the moon’s mantle
The Chang’e-4 mission spotted material on the lunar surface that appears to contain bits originating from the moon’s interior.
- Animals
Peacock spiders’ superblack spots reflect just 0.5 percent of light
By manipulating light with tiny structures, patches on peacock spiders appear superblack, helping accentuate the arachnids’ bright colors.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI can learn real-world skills from playing StarCraft and Minecraft
By playing StarCraft and Minecraft, artificial intelligence is learning how to collaborate and adapt.
- Genetics
Tweaking one gene with CRISPR switched the way a snail shell spirals
The first gene-edited snails confirm which gene is responsible for the direction of the shell’s spiral.
- Planetary Science
Apollo-era moonquakes reveal that the moon may be tectonically active
Moonquakes recorded decades ago suggest the moon is tectonically active. Knowing more about that activity could help scientists identify where to land future spacecraft.
- Artificial Intelligence
A new AI acquired humanlike ‘number sense’ on its own
A new artificial intelligence seems to share our intuitive ability to estimate numbers at a glance.
- Science & Society
Celebrating scientists who ask big questions
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses scientists who are asking important questions for society.
- Ecosystems
Readers were curious about green icebergs, aliens and more
Readers had questions and comments about icebergs and climate change, CBD and NASA’s search for E.T.
