All Stories
- Earth
Coastal waters were an oxygen oasis 2.3 billion years ago
Coastal waters contained enough oxygen to support complex life-forms including some animals hundreds of millions of years before fossils of such life first appear.
- Climate
Petrified tree rings tell ancient tale of sun’s behavior
The 11-year cycle of solar activity may have been around for at least 290 million years, ancient tree rings suggest.
- Life
Here’s how earwax might clean ears
Science seeks inspiration in earwax for dreams of self-cleaning machinery.
- Materials Science
New ‘smart’ fibers curb fires in lithium-ion batteries
To stifle battery fires, scientists create component with heat-release flame retardant.
- Health & Medicine
Though complex, new peanut allergy guidelines are based on science
Unlike some past recommendations, new guidelines state that introducing babies to peanut-containing foods early is generally OK, with certain caveats.
- Health & Medicine
Promise and perils of marijuana deserve more scientific scrutiny
Report outlines medical potential and health dangers of cannabis and its components.
- Chemistry
New molecular knot is most complex yet
The knot is woven from 192 atoms of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen and forms a triple braid with eight crossing points.
- Neuroscience
How mice use their brain to hunt
Messages from the brain’s amygdala help mice chase and kill prey.
- Life
Shimmering soap bubbles have a dark side
Merging dark spots are indicators that a bubble is about to burst.
- Animals
It takes guts for a sea spider to pump blood
Most sea spiders have hearts, but what really gets their blood flowing are gut contractions.
- Neuroscience
Pain promoter also acts as pain reliever
A pain-sensing protein also regulates activity of pain-relieving opioids.
- Paleontology
Ancient oddball invertebrate finds its place on the tree of life
Ancient marine invertebrates called hyoliths may be more closely related to modern horseshoe worms than mollusks, a fossil analysis finds.
