News
- Oceans
The world’s fisheries are incredibly intertwined, thanks to baby fish
A computer simulation reveals how one nation's management of its fish spawning grounds could significantly help or hurt another country's catch.
- Genetics
DNA confirms a weird Greenland whale was a narwhal-beluga hybrid
DNA analysis of a skull indicates that the animal had a narwhal mother and beluga father.
- Climate
Cold War–era spy satellite images show Himalayan glaciers are melting fast
Declassified spy satellite photographs reveal that glacier melt in the Himalayas has sped up dramatically in the last two decades.
- Neuroscience
Female rats face sex bias too
In neurobiological studies, male lab animals tend to outnumber females, which are considered too hormonal. Scientists say it’s time for that myth to go.
- Paleontology
Hyenas roamed the Arctic during the last ice age
Two teeth confirm the idea that hyenas crossed the Bering land bridge into North America, a study finds.
- Life
Norovirus close-ups might help fight stomach flu
Detailed views of a common stomach virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea could aid vaccine and disinfectant development.
- Earth
Is a long-dormant Russian volcano waking up? It’s complicated
Scientists debate how to interpret seismic activity near Bolshaya Udina on the remote Kamchatka Peninsula.
- Ecosystems
Many of the world’s rivers are flush with dangerous levels of antibiotics
Antibiotic pollution can fuel drug resistance in microbes. A global survey of rivers finds unsafe levels of antibiotics in 16 percent of sites.
- Astronomy
Massive superflares have been seen erupting from stars like the sun
Older stars, like the sun, can still send out massive bursts of energy that can be seen from light-years away.
- Climate
The National Weather Service has launched its new U.S. forecasting model
The United States has finally unveiled its new, highly touted weather prediction model, but some scientists worry that it’s not ready for prime time.
- Archaeology
People may have smoked marijuana in rituals 2,500 years ago in western China
Cannabis may have been altering minds at an ancient high-altitude cemetery, researchers say
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Extra fingers, often seen as useless, can offer major dexterity advantages
Two people born with six fingers on each hand can control the extra digit, using it to do tasks better than five-fingered hands, a study finds.