News

  1. Genetics

    Here’s why some pigeons do backflips

    Meet the scientist homing in on the genes involved in making parlor roller pigeons do backward somersaults.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  2. Neuroscience

    Chickadees use memory ‘bar codes’ to find their hidden food stashes

    Unique subsets of neurons in a chickadee’s memory center light up for each distinct cache, hinting at how episodic memories are encoded in the brain.

    By Jake Buehler
  3. Neuroscience

    Here’s how magnetic fields shape desert ants’ brains

    Exposure to a tweaked magnetic field scrambled desert ants’ efforts to learn where home is — and affected neuron connections in a key part of the brain.

    By Saugat Bolakhe
  4. Earth

    Earth’s oldest known earthquake was probably triggered by plate tectonics

    Billion-year-old rocks in South Africa hold evidence for the onset of plate tectonics early in Earth’s history.