All Stories
- Genetics
Jumping genes play a big role in what makes us human
Jumping genes have been a powerful force in human evolution.
- Health & Medicine
Where you live can affect your blood pressure, study suggests
For black adults, moving out of a racially segregated neighborhood is linked to a drop in blood pressure, a new study finds.
- Physics
Naked singularity might evade cosmic censor
Physicists demonstrate the possibility of a “naked” singularity in curved space.
- Science & Society
The first Cassini to explore Saturn was a person
Cassini, the spacecraft about to dive into Saturn, was named for the astronomical pioneer who first perceived the gap between the planet’s famous rings.
- Science & Society
New museum exhibit explores science of racism
“Us and Them,” a new exhibit at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris, draws on genetics, psychology, anthropology and sociology to examine why racism and prejudice persist.
- Earth
Stunning images reveal glacial landscapes under the oceans
The most detailed atlas of the seafloor ever compiled offers colorful imagery and ghostly glimpses of Earth’s glacial past.
By Beth Geiger - Health & Medicine
Toddlers’ screen time linked to speech delays and lost sleep, but questions remain
Two new studies link handheld screen time for young children to less sleep and greater risk of expressive language delays. But the results are preliminary.
- Animals
Watch male cuttlefish fight over a female in the wild
For the first time, researchers have observed the competitive mating behaviors of the European cuttlefish in the field.
- Particle Physics
Antiproton count hints at dark matter annihilation
Antimatter in cosmic rays could be a sign of dark matter.
- 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 Susan Milius - 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.
- 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.