News

  1. Animals

    Tough-guy bluebirds need a frontier

    As western bluebirds recolonize Montana, the most aggressive males move in first, paving the way for milder-mannered dads to take over.

    By Susan Milius
  2. Physics

    Hot stuff

    A plasma-based amplifier bumps up a laser's intensity by an unprecedented 20,000 times.

    By Davide Castelvecchi
  3. Planetary Science

    Neptune’s balmy south pole

    Neptune's south pole is about 10°C warmer than any other place on the planet.

    By Ron Cowen
  4. Agriculture

    Web Special: You fertilized with what?

    A study shows that farmers can substitute human urine for conventional fertilizer.

    By Janet Raloff
  5. Anthropology

    Sail Away: Tools reveal extent of ancient Polynesian trips

    Rock from Hawaii was fashioned into a stone tool found in Polynesian islands more than 4,000 kilometers to the south, indicating that canoeists made the sea journey around 1,000 years ago.