All Stories
- Genetics
Ancient boy’s DNA pushes back date of earliest humans
Genes from South African fossils suggest humans emerged close to 300,000 years ago.
- Genetics
A mutation may explain the sudden rise in birth defects from Zika
A mutation in a protein that helps Zika exit cells may play a big role in microcephaly.
- Climate
Tropical forests have flipped from sponges to sources of carbon dioxide
Analyses of satellite images suggest that degraded forests now release more carbon than they store.
- Animals
Bedbugs may be into dirty laundry
When humans aren’t around, bedbugs go for the next best thing: smelly human laundry.
- Physics
Trio of detectors tracks gravitational waves to their home
LIGO and Virgo spot spacetime ripples in their first joint detection.
- Paleontology
Saber-toothed kittens were born armed to pounce
Even as babies, saber-toothed cats had not only oversized canine teeth but also unusually powerful forelimbs.
- Tech
Origami outfits help these bots change tasks swiftly
These robots change shape by slipping into different origami exoskeletons.
- Paleontology
This giant marsupial was a seasonal migrant
A new analysis suggests that Diprotodon optatum, a giant plant-eating marsupial that went extinct about 40,000 years ago, migrated long distances, much like today’s zebras and wildebeests.
- Paleontology
This giant marsupial was a seasonal migrant
The giant, extinct marsupial Diprotodon optatum migrated seasonally, the first marsupial shown to do so.
- Animals
To test sleep, researchers don’t let sleeping jellyfish lie
Upside-down jellyfish are the first known animals without a brain to enter a sleeplike state.
- Physics
Turning up the heat on electrons reveals an elusive physics phenomenon
Heating a strip of platinum creates a “spin current” in the material’s electrons due to the spin Nernst effect.
- Health & Medicine
About 1 in 5 teens has had a concussion
Almost 20 percent of U.S. teens have had at least one diagnosed concussion in the past, an analysis of a 2016 national survey finds.
