All Stories

  1. Genetics

    Selfish genes hide for decades in plain sight of worm geneticists

    Crossing wild Hawaiian C. elegans with the familiar lab strain reveals genes that benefit themselves by making mother worms poison offspring who haven’t inherited the right stuff.

    By
  2. Planetary Science

    Watery exoplanet’s skies suggest unexpected origin story

    Compared with Neptune, HAT-P-26b’s atmosphere has few heavy elements, suggesting it formed differently than the ice giants in Earth’s solar system.

    By
  3. Paleontology

    Ancient whale tells tale of when baleen whales had teeth

    A 36 million-year-old whale fossil bridges the gap between ancient toothy predators and modern filter-feeding baleen whales.

    By
  4. Tech

    New pelvic exoskeleton stops people from taking tumbles

    A new exoskeleton helps people prone to falling stay on their feet.

    By
  5. Animals

    Why create a model of mammal defecation? Because everyone poops

    Mammals that defecate in the same fashion as humans all excrete waste within the same time frame, no matter their size, a new study finds.

    By
  6. Health & Medicine

    Breast cancer cells spread in an already-armed mob

    Source tumors may already contain the mutations that drive aggressive cancer spread.

    By
  7. Health & Medicine

    ‘Exercise pill’ turns couch potato mice into marathoners

    An experimental "exercise in a pill" increases running endurance in mice before they step foot on a treadmill.

    By
  8. Health & Medicine

    New rules for cellular entry may aid antibiotic development

    A new study lays out several rules to successfully enter gram-negative bacteria, which could lead to the development of sorely needed antibiotics.

    By
  9. Earth

    Ice particles shaped like lollipops fall from clouds

    Small ice particles called ice-lollies, because of their lollipop-like appearance, can form in clouds.

    By
  10. Paleontology

    ‘Baby Louie’ dinosaur identified as a new species

    A fossil embryo known as Baby Louie has been identified as a new species of dinosaur called Beibeilong sinensis.

    By
  11. Animals

    Seabirds use preening to decide how to divvy up parenting duties

    Seabirds in poor condition may communicate this information to their partner by delaying or withholding preening.

    By
  12. Anthropology

    Homo naledi may have lived at around same time as early humans

    South African species Homo naledi is much younger than previously thought.

    By