All Stories
- Genetics
Human genes often best Neandertal ones in brain, testes
Differing activity of human and Neandertal versions of genes may help explain health risks.
- Health & Medicine
A preschooler’s bubbly personality may rub off on friends
Scientists caught personality shifts in preschoolers over a year by observing play.
- Science & Society
Physics greats of the 20th century mixed science and public service
New biographies highlight Enrico Fermi’s and Richard Garwin’s contributions to science and society.
- Health & Medicine
Questions remain about the benefits of taking testosterone
For men with low testosterone, the pros and cons of taking hormone replacement therapy are mixed.
- Astronomy
Seven Earth-sized planets orbit nearby supercool star
A planetary system called TRAPPIST-1 has seven Earth-sized planets, three in the habitable zone, researchers report.
- Science & Society
Science’s questions rarely have clear, easy answers
Acting Editor in Chief Elizabeth Quill discusses science's complexities.
- Quantum Physics
Readers amazed by Amasia
Quantum spookiness, shifting landmasses and more in reader feedback.
- Health & Medicine
Instead of starving a cancer, researchers go after its defenses
There may be ways to block tumors from adapting and outrunning the body’s defenses.
- Animals
Too many stinkbugs spoil the wine
Stinkbugs can ruin wine if enough are accidentally processed alive with the grapes. Three or fewer stinkbugs per grape cluster don’t have a noticeable effect on red wine.
- Life
Howler monkeys may owe their color vision to leaf hue
Better color vision gives howler monkeys an edge at finding food.
- Anthropology
Power may have passed via women in ancient Chaco Canyon society
DNA points to a 330-year-long reign of a maternal dynasty centered in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon.
- Anthropology
Low-status chimps revealed as trendsetters
Outranked chimpanzees trigger spread of useful new behaviors among their comrades.
