News
- Archaeology
Ancient hominids made long road trips to collect stone for tools
A Kenyan site shows early hominids transported stone 13 kilometers for toolmaking as early as 2.6 million years ago.
- Astronomy
The oldest known black hole formed more than 13.3 billion years ago
The Webb telescope found that a far-off little red dot is the oldest known black hole, shrouded by gas that could help explain the ruby color.
- Animals
A single protein makes lovesick flies spill their guts
Producing a male-specific protein in digestion-related neurons may have led to the evolution of an odd “romantic” barfing behavior in one species of fruit flies.
- Planetary Science
Cosmic rays could, in theory, sustain life on other worlds
The hypothesis could extend the search for extraterrestrial life to include frigid planets with thin atmospheres and underground water.
- Environment
A glacier burst, flooding Juneau. Again. This one broke records
A warming climate is behind growing floods of glacier meltwater in Alaska’s capital. Scientists say it’s the new normal.
- Anthropology
A 104-centimeter-long hair could rewrite recordkeeping in Inca society
Analysis of the hair used in a knotted device reveals the owner’s simple diet. That suggests commoners, not just the elite, kept records in Inca society.
- Physics
Sunlight is all that’s needed to keep these tiny aircraft aloft
Sun-powered fliers could use photophoretic forces to hover in the mesosphere, gathering data from a region off limits to planes and balloons.
- Animals
Warm autumns could be a driver in monarch butterflies’ decline
In the lab, higher temperatures during fall migration led monarchs to break their reproductive pause, increasing their risk of death.
- Humans
Stopping menopausal hormones may require more bone monitoring
Women face a small rise in fracture risk within 10 years of stopping therapy, suggesting the need for additional monitoring.
- Health & Medicine
The sugar substitute sucralose makes immunotherapy less effective
Found in Splenda, sucralose reduces immunotherapy efficacy via its effects on the gut microbiome, but arginine supplements might counter the outcome.
- Materials Science
Scientists re-create a legendary golden fabric from clam waste
Sea silk, once spun from endangered clams, may make a comeback — thanks to discarded fibers from a farmed species. The find could sustainably revive a fading art.
- Paleontology
Dinosaur teeth reveal some were picky eaters
The enamel in fossilized teeth reveals some dinosaurs preferred to eat particular parts of plants.
