News

Humans

Babies learn words before birth

Brain responses suggest infants can distinguish distinct words from altered versions that they learned in the womb.

Psychology

Behavioral research may overstate results

'Soft' sciences inflate support for what scientists expected to find, data check suggests.

Earth

Breakups maintain barchan dune fields, somehow

Two new theories try to explain how the crescent-shaped sand mountains persist.

Astronomy

‘Space beads’ push back origins of iron working

Ancient Egyptians used advanced techniques to make beads out of 'metal from the sky.'

Astronomy

To determine stars’ physical traits, Kepler sees the light

Measuring stellar brightness can yield useful estimates of stars' size and evolutionary stage, and help in the hunt for planets.