News
- Earth
How continents do the splits
East African seismic study reveals how land gives way to ocean crust.
- Paleontology
New dinosaur species is titanic
Titanoceratops may be the oldest known member of the triceratops group.
By Susan Milius - Earth
Understanding storm spin-offs
Meteorologists seeking to better predict tornadoes probe the differences between tempests that spawn twisters and those that don't.
- Humans
Iron Age goldsmith retooled
An ancient warrior's tomb brings back jewelry making from 2,400 years ago.
By Bruce Bower - Humans
In-laws transformed early human society
A study of today's hunter-gatherers finds marital relationships help spread a social fabric.
By Bruce Bower - Chemistry
Light-sensor pulls perplexing double duty
A long-studied eye pigment appears to also detect temperature, a study in fruit flies shows.
- Physics
Tractor beams arrive two centuries early
Trekkie devices that can pull instead of push have been developed by U.S. and Chinese physicists to move small objects.
By Devin Powell - Health & Medicine
Digging into the roots of lupus
Two new studies implicate common white blood cells called neutrophils in this autoimmune disease.
By Nathan Seppa - Humans
Missing bits of DNA may define humans
Genetic information lost along the way may have led to bigger brains and spineless penises, among other traits.
- Life
Anxiety switch makes mice shy no more
Brain-control experiments could help shed light on psychiatric disorders
- Life
Help, elephants need somebody
In pull-together tests, pachyderms are on par with chimps in understanding the basics of cooperation.
By Susan Milius - Physics
Soot hastens snowmelt on Tibetan Plateau
Black carbon pollution is a more potent driver of melting in the region than increases in carbon dioxide, a new computer simulation suggests.
By Janet Raloff