News

  1. Animals

    Giraffes inherit their spots from their mothers

    Africa’s tallest creatures get their characteristic patterns of spots from their moms, a new study finds.

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  2. Physics

    Dazzling laser feats earn these physicists a Nobel

    The 2018 Nobel Prize in physics went to scientists — including the third-ever female winner — who made optical tweezers and boosted the strength of laser pulses.

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  3. Climate

    Tracking how rainfall morphs Earth’s surface could help forecast flooding

    After Hurricane Harvey, scientists used GPS networks to track how Earth’s surface morphed under the weight of floodwaters.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Discovery of how to prod a patient’s immune system to fight cancer wins a Nobel

    Two scientists share the 2018 medicine Nobel for identifying proteins that act as brakes on tumor-fighting T cells.

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  5. Plants

    Gene editing can speed up plant domestication

    CRISPR/Cas9 replays domestication to make better ground cherries and tomatoes.

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  6. Genetics

    Smuggling a CRISPR gene editor into staph bacteria can kill the pathogen

    A new way fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria co-opts toxin-producing genes.

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  7. Particle Physics

    Hints of weird particles from space may defy physicists’ standard model

    Signals from the ANITA experiment don’t square with the properties of elementary particles cataloged in the standard model.

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  8. Climate

    Warm tropical Atlantic waters juiced the 2017 hurricane season

    Anomalously warm ocean waters in the tropical Atlantic Ocean drove 2017’s hurricane powerhouses.

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  9. Animals

    Feral cats appear to be pathetic at controlling New York City’s rats

    When cats are on the prowl, rats may become harder to see, but roaming cats actually killed only a few.

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  10. Archaeology

    Laser mapping shows the surprising complexity of the Maya civilization

    A large-scale lidar survey of Guatemalan forests reveals evidence of ancient, interconnected Maya cities.

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  11. Neuroscience

    Survey raises worries about how screen time affects kids’ brains

    A large study of U.S. children ties lots of screen time to lower thinking skills, but the relationship between the two is still unclear.

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  12. Animals

    Manta rays have an unusual mouth filter that resists clogging

    Manta rays filter feed differently than other ocean creatures.

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