News
-
AnimalsScore! Bumblebees see how to sink ball in goal, then do it better
A first lesson in six-legged soccer tests bumblebees’ ability to learn.
By Susan Milius -
LifeBacteria’s amyloids display surprising structure
Protein clusters made by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria have a surprising new structure.
-
Health & MedicineQuestions remain about the benefits of taking testosterone
For men with low testosterone, the pros and cons of taking hormone replacement therapy are mixed.
By Meghan Rosen -
AstronomySeven Earth-sized planets orbit nearby supercool star
A planetary system called TRAPPIST-1 has seven Earth-sized planets, three in the habitable zone, researchers report.
-
AnthropologyPower may have passed via women in ancient Chaco Canyon society
DNA points to a 330-year-long reign of a maternal dynasty centered in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon.
By Bruce Bower -
AnthropologyLow-status chimps revealed as trendsetters
Outranked chimpanzees trigger spread of useful new behaviors among their comrades.
By Bruce Bower -
PlantsEnzymes aid rice plants’ arsenic defenses
Rice plant roots have natural defenses against arsenic.
-
MicrobesMicrobes survived inside giant cave crystals for up to 50,000 years
Microbes trapped in crystals in Mexico's Naica mine may represent some of the most distinct life-forms found in Earth so far.
-
Planetary ScienceEuropa lander mission takes another step toward reality
NASA is working on a possible lander mission in which the main science goal would be to search for signs of life on Jupiter’s moon Europa.
-
Health & MedicineCommon fungus may raise asthma risk
The presence of a fungus in the infant gut can signal development of asthma by age 5.
-
ChemistryHelium’s inertness defied by high-pressure compound
At pressures over a million atmospheres, helium reacts with sodium.
-
Planetary ScienceCeres harbors homegrown organic compounds
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has detected organic matter — the building blocks of life — on the dwarf planet Ceres, a new study suggests.