News
- 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.
- 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.
- Health & Medicine
‘Exercise pill’ turns couch potato mice into marathoners
An experimental "exercise in a pill" increases running endurance in mice before they step foot on a treadmill.
- Health & Medicine
New rules for cellular entry may aid antibiotic development
A new study lays out several rules to successfully enter gram-negative bacteria, which could lead to the development of sorely needed antibiotics.
- Animals
Seabirds use preening to decide how to divvy up parenting duties
Seabirds in poor condition may communicate this information to their partner by delaying or withholding preening.
- Anthropology
Homo naledi may have lived at around same time as early humans
South African species Homo naledi is much younger than previously thought.
- Planetary Science
Oxygen on comet 67P might not be ancient after all
Molecular oxygen detected around comet 67P may not be a relic of the solar system’s birth. Instead, it may be generated by interactions of water, the solar wind and the comet’s surface.
- Archaeology
Twisted textile cords may contain clues to Inca messages
A writing system from the 1700s may illuminate even older knotty Inca messages.
- Animals
In Florida, they’re fighting mosquitoes by meddling with their sex lives
As an alternative to genetically modified mosquitoes, Florida skeeter police are testing one of two strategies that use bacteria to meddle with insect sex lives.
- Planetary Science
Mars may not have been born alongside the other rocky planets
Mars formed farther away from the sun than its present-day orbit, not near the other terrestrial planets, new research suggests.
- Neuroscience
Internal compass guides fruit fly navigation
Experiments show how flies navigate — and why this might be important for humans.
