All Stories
- Genetics
Indonesia’s pygmies didn’t descend from hobbits, DNA analysis suggests
Short people living on the Indonesian island of Flores don’t appear to have DNA from controversial, small-bodied Stone Age hominids called hobbits.
- Paleontology
Fossil teeth show how a mass extinction scrambled shark evolution
The dinosaur-destroying mass extinction event didn’t wipe out sharks, but it did change their fate.
- Anthropology
Cremated remains reveal hints of who is buried at Stonehenge
Ancient stone monument held burials of people from more than 200 kilometers away, a new study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Google Glass could help children with autism socialize with others
Google Glass has a new lease on life, and this time it’s helping children with autism improve their social skills, a pilot trial suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Newfound airway cells may breathe life into tackling cystic fibrosis
A newly discovered cell in the lining of the airways is the primary site of activity for the gene that, when defective, causes cystic fibrosis.
- Animals
With one island’s losses, the king penguin species shrinks by a third
Once home to the largest known colony of king penguins, Île aux Cochons has lost most of its birds for unknown reason.
- Earth
Rare blue diamonds are born deep in Earth’s mantle
Rare blue diamonds are among the deepest ever found, and hint at possible pathways for recycling of ocean crust in the mantle.
- Particle Physics
In a first, physicists accelerate atoms in the Large Hadron Collider
Ionized lead atoms took a spin around the world’s biggest particle accelerator.
- Astronomy
How the Parker probe was built to survive close encounters with the sun
Scientists had to get creative in testing the technology for the Parker Solar Probe, using huge mirrors, dust tunnels and even reams of paper.
- Neuroscience
Soccer headers may hurt women’s brains more than men’s
Women sustain more damage from heading soccer balls than men, a brain scan study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
A medical mystery reveals a new host for the rat lungworm parasite
Doctors report that A. cantonensis was transmitted to two people who ate raw centipedes, but you can get it from other creatures as well.
- Neuroscience
Anxiety in monkeys is linked to hereditary brain traits
A key brain connection may be behind childhood anxiety, brain scans of monkeys suggest.
