News

Paleontology

Dino eggs came in different colors

Dinosaur eggs came in bold shades of blue-green and brown-speckled blue.

Neuroscience

Cerebellum may be site of creative spark

Brain scan experiment hints that cerebellum might have a hand in getting creative juices flowing.

Anthropology

Double blow to skull is earliest evidence of murder, a 430,000-year-old whodunit

A 430,000-year-old hominid skull shows signs of murder, making it the earliest suspected homicide.

Humans

Fossils suggest another hominid species lived near Lucy

Fossil jaws dating to over 3 million years ago may add a new species to the ancient hominid mix.

Climate

Next icy era may be on hold

Carbon emissions from humans may have postponed Earth’s next glaciation, new research suggests.

Neuroscience

No-pain gene discovered

Scientists have identified a new genetic culprit for the inability to perceive pain.

Environment

Rising dolphin deaths linked to Deepwater Horizon spill

Lung lesions and other injuries link an extensive die-off of dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Climate

Tranquil ecosystems may explain wild swings in carbon dioxide stashing

Semiarid ecosystems, such as grasslands and shrublands, are behind the large variation in the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide sucked in by land each year.

Genetics

Mutations that drive cancer lurk in healthy skin

Healthy tissue carries mutations that drive cancer, samples of normal skin cells show.

Neuroscience

Brain implants let paralyzed man move robotic arm

Implanting tiny silicon chips in the action-planning part of a paralyzed man’s brain let him smoothly control a robotic limb with his thoughts.

Genetics

Ancient DNA pushes back timing of the origin of dogs

DNA extracted from the fossil of an ancient wolf indicates dogs and wolves diverged longer ago than previously thought.

Animals

Octopuses can ‘see’ with their skin

Eyes aren’t the only cephalopod body parts with light-catching molecules.