News
- Humans
Migrants settled New World in tandem
A genetic investigation of two rare types of mitochondrial DNA in Native Americans suggests that people first entered the Americas in two groups, following separate routes.
By Bruce Bower - Space
Tuned in to new noise from the cosmos
Unexplained radio noise may be signals from the early universe.
By Ron Cowen - Life
Fifty-two things to do with a bat wing
Bats swim, run, flirt and do lots of other nonflight jobs with their wings -- a fact that may have influenced evolution of the wing's architecture.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
Record low for human blood oxygen levels
Study of Mt. Everest climbers shows some bodies can tolerate low oxygen levels that are toxic to others.
- Health & Medicine
Early C-sections pose risks
Babies delivered by elective cesarean section just a week or two before 39 weeks of gestation face increased risk of respiratory and other complications.
By Nathan Seppa - Space
In the young universe, black holes may have formed first
Findings pose a possible answer to long-standing question of when the black holes at galactic centers formed.
By Ron Cowen - Earth
Early asteroids unexpectedly crusty
Two meteorites retrieved from West Antarctica, fragments of an ancient asteroid, contain a type of rock commonly found in Earth’s crust but previously unseen in meteorites.
By Sid Perkins - Space
Astronomers get burst of details from early universe
Unusually bright afterglow records what a galaxy was like soon after Big Bang.
By Ron Cowen - Health & Medicine
Parkinson’s brain surgery works in older patients, too
A surgery in which two tiny electrodes are placed in the brain improves the quality of life of patients with Parkinson’s disease, including older patients, and seems to have only short-term side effects.
By Nathan Seppa - Space
Evolution, 3-D animation of Cassiopeia A
Videos chart old supernova remnant, give 3-D perspective
By Ron Cowen - Math
Mathematicians show how beetles can share a niche
New equations help solve decades-old puzzle of why one species doesn’t always outcompete another.
- Life
Rock-climbing fish caught in evolution tug-of-war
Tall is good for dodging danger, but short is better for climbing waterfalls.
By Susan Milius