All Stories
- Artificial Intelligence
Linking sense of touch to facial movement inches robots toward ‘feeling’ pain
Artificial systems that allow a robot to “feel” pain might ultimately lead to empathy.
- Health & Medicine
Very few infants seem to be getting sick with the new coronavirus
Scientists tracking how the outbreak of a novel coronavirus is affecting young children and newborns haven’t seen many cases.
- Computing
AI can predict which criminals may break laws again better than humans
Computer algorithms are better than people at forecasting recidivism, at least in some situations, a new study finds.
- Life
Microbiologists took 12 years to grow a microbe tied to complex life’s origins
Years of lab work resulted in growing a type of archaea that might help scientists understand one of evolution’s giant leaps toward complexity.
- Environment
50 years ago, protests and promises launched the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
50 years ago, the upcoming Trans-Alaska Pipeline prompted an economic boom amid outrage from environmental and Native American groups.
- Health & Medicine
Coronavirus’s genetic fingerprints are used to rapidly map its spread
Fast and widespread scientific data sharing and genetic testing have created a picture of how the new coronavirus spreads.
- Animals
Snakes suffered after a frog-killing fungus wiped out their food
A frog-killing fungus that swept through Panama had a hidden effect. A new study finds that snake diversity declined post-fungus at one field station.
- Physics
The fastest way to heat certain materials may be to cool them first
A theoretical study reveals that, in certain situations, some materials might heat up more quickly after first being cooled.
- Animals
Jellyfish snot can sting swimmers who never touch the animal
Researchers have found mobile cellular blobs coated with stinging cells in mucus from a jellyfish that sits upside-down on the seafloor.
- Animals
With a litter of tactics, scientists work to tame cat allergies
New research may reduce the allergen levels of house cats or make people less reactive to our feline friends.
- Humans
Some West Africans may have genes from an ancient ‘ghost’ hominid
A humanlike population undiscovered in fossils may have passed helpful DNA on to human ancestors in West Africa starting as early as 124,000 years ago.
- Oceans
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill spread much farther than once thought
Computer simulations reveal the full extent of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
