News
- Anthropology
Scientists battle over whether violence has declined over time
People are no more violent in small-scale societies than in states, researchers contend.
- Genetics
Doubling up on ‘junk DNA’ helps make us human
DNA duplicated only in humans may contribute to human traits and disease.
- Life
The next wave of bird flu could be worse than ever
Deadly bird flu can pass between ferrets through the air.
- Life
The physics of mosquito takeoffs shows why you don’t feel a thing
Even when full of blood, mosquitoes use more wing force than leg force to escape a host undetected — clue to why they’re so good at spreading disease.
- Health & Medicine
Animal study reveals how a fever early in pregnancy can cause birth defects
Using chicken embryos, study shows that heat itself, not an infectious agent, is the driving factor behind certain heart and facial birth defects.
- Artificial Intelligence
The newest AlphaGo mastered the game with no human input
AlphaGo Zero is the first AI system of its kind to learn the game just by playing against itself.
- Tech
This stretchy implant could help kids avoid repeated open-heart surgeries
A new type of surgical implant grows along with its recipient.
- Life
Gut fungi might be linked to obesity and inflammatory bowel disorders
Fungi are overlooked contributors to health and disease.
- Animals
To understand the origins of pain, ask a flatworm
A danger-sensing protein responds to hydrogen peroxide in planarians, results that hint at the evolutionary origins of people’s pain sensing.
- Astronomy
Neutron star collision showers the universe with a wealth of discoveries
A collision of neutron stars was spotted with gravitational waves for the first time. Telescopes captured gamma rays, visible light and more from the smashup.
- Earth
When the Larsen C ice shelf broke, it exposed a hidden world
Scientists plan urgent missions to visit the world the Larsen C iceberg left behind.
- Chemistry
A potential drug found in a sea creature can now be made efficiently in the lab
Cooking bryostatin 1 up in a lab lets researchers explore its potential as a drug.
