News
- Paleontology
Early ants may have had complex social lives, fossil data suggests
The earliest ants may have been primed for a highly social life — 100 million years ago, the insects had antennae tuned to key communication functions.
- Climate
The Arctic is warming rapidly. These clouds may hold clues as to why
Climate simulations can’t fully handle towering Arctic thunderclouds. So scientists have been flying a C-130 into and around the clouds to learn more.
- Health & Medicine
A malaria drug could be used to treat PCOS, a common hormone disorder
Artemisinin is known to be effective against malaria, lupus, cancer and now possibly polycystic ovarian syndrome.
- Paleontology
‘Echidnapus’ hints at a lost age of egg-laying mammals
The fossil discoveries double the number of known monotreme species during the Cretaceous Period.
- Anthropology
Child sacrifices at famed Maya site were all boys, many closely related
DNA analysis shows victims in one underground chamber at Chichén Itzá included twins, perhaps representing mythological figures.
- Health & Medicine
Long COVID finally gets a universal definition
If broadly adopted, this inclusive description of long COVID will help legitimize the ongoing struggles millions of people are facing post-infection.
- Space
Human spaceflight’s new era is fraught with medical and ethical questions
A new project called the Space Omics and Medical Atlas aims to study and document astronaut health as commercial spaceflight starts to take off.
- Health & Medicine
Gen X has higher cancer rates than their baby boomer parents
An unexplained uptick in cancer diagnoses among Gen Xers might be bad news for millennials and Gen Z.
- Health & Medicine
Can humans get chronic wasting disease from deer?
Tests on brain organoids suggest the disease-causing prions face a tough barrier to infect people, but ruling out transmission is a difficult task.
- Anthropology
Fossil finds amplify Europe’s status as a hotbed of great ape evolution
A kneecap and two teeth belonged to the smallest known great ape, a study contends. If so, it’s the first to coexist with another great ape in Europe.
- Health & Medicine
Wildfire smoke may cause tens of thousands of premature deaths
A modeling study of California wildfires from 2008 through 2018 estimates that smoke exposure was responsible for as many as 55,700 premature deaths.
- Earth
Geoscientists found the most dangerous part of a famous West Coast fault
Seismic data reveal that the Cascadia megathrust consists of at least four segments, the most dangerous of which may lurk offshore of Washington.
