Uncategorized

  1. Paleontology

    Fossil gets a leg up on snake family tree

    A 95-million-year-old fossil snake with legs may be an advanced big-mouthed snake, not a primitive ancestor.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  2. Math

    Random packing of spheres

    A new definition of random packing allows a more consistent and mathematically precise approach to characterizing disordered arrangements of identical spheres.

    By Ivars Peterson
  3. Math

    Orbiting in a figure-eight loop

    Three gravitationally interacting bodies of equal mass can, according to precise calculations, trace out a figure-eight-shape orbit in space.

    By Ivars Peterson

  4. Fading to black doesn’t empower fish

    Field studies of three-spined stickleback fish dash a textbook example of the theory of how one species can take on a competitor's characteristics.