News
- Animals
Female guppies with bigger brains pick more attractive guys
A larger-brained female guppy may pick primo males, but all that mental machinery costs her in other ways.
By Susan Milius - Paleontology
Anatomy analysis suggests new dinosaur family tree
A new analysis rewrites the dinosaur family tree, splitting up long-recognized groups.
- Planetary Science
How Pluto’s haze could explain its red spots
Pluto’s collapsing atmosphere may explain the dwarf planet’s seemingly random ruddy spots.
- Plants
Genetic switch offers clue to why grasses are survival masters
Scientists have identified a genetic switch that helps grasses regulate their carbon dioxide intake.
- Ecosystems
A king snake’s strength is in its squeeze
King snakes feast on other, larger snakes, perhaps thanks to superior constricting abilities, new research suggests.
- Science & Society
White House budget plan would slash science
President Donald Trump’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2018 includes some big cuts for science.
- Earth
Remnants of Earth’s original crust preserve time before plate tectonics
Canadian rocks containing bits from 4.2 billion years ago suggest that full-fledged plate tectonics had a late start.
- Physics
Superfluid helium behaves like black holes
Simulations of superfluid helium show it follows the same unusual entropy rule that black holes do.
- Astronomy
Distant galaxies lack dark matter, study suggests
Slower-than-expected velocities of stars in distant galaxies, if confirmed, could reshape astronomers’ ideas of galaxy formation and evolution.
- Neuroscience
Making a mistake can put your brain on ‘pause’
When there’s not much time to recover, one error can lead to another.
- Climate
Changing climate could worsen foods’ nutrition
Climate change could aggravate hidden hunger by sapping micronutrients from soils and plants, reducing nutrition in wheat, rice and other crops.
By Susan Milius - Quantum Physics
Quantum counterfeiters might succeed
Physicists demonstrate security issue with quantum cash.