Uncategorized
- Anthropology
Fossil teeth push the human-Neandertal split back to about 1 million years ago
A study of fossilized teeth shifts the age of the last common ancestor between Neandertals and humans.
- Planetary Science
China’s lunar rover may have found minerals from the moon’s mantle
The Chang’e-4 mission spotted material on the lunar surface that appears to contain bits originating from the moon’s interior.
- Animals
Peacock spiders’ superblack spots reflect just 0.5 percent of light
By manipulating light with tiny structures, patches on peacock spiders appear superblack, helping accentuate the arachnids’ bright colors.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI can learn real-world skills from playing StarCraft and Minecraft
By playing StarCraft and Minecraft, artificial intelligence is learning how to collaborate and adapt.
- Genetics
Tweaking one gene with CRISPR switched the way a snail shell spirals
The first gene-edited snails confirm which gene is responsible for the direction of the shell’s spiral.
- Planetary Science
Apollo-era moonquakes reveal that the moon may be tectonically active
Moonquakes recorded decades ago suggest the moon is tectonically active. Knowing more about that activity could help scientists identify where to land future spacecraft.
- Artificial Intelligence
A new AI acquired humanlike ‘number sense’ on its own
A new artificial intelligence seems to share our intuitive ability to estimate numbers at a glance.
- Science & Society
Celebrating scientists who ask big questions
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses scientists who are asking important questions for society.
- Ecosystems
Readers were curious about green icebergs, aliens and more
Readers had questions and comments about icebergs and climate change, CBD and NASA’s search for E.T.
- Animals
Deep-sea fishes’ eye chemistry might let them see colors in near darkness
An unexpected abundance of proteins for catching dim light evolved independently in three groups of weird deep-sea fishes.
- Earth
Only a third of Earth’s longest rivers still run free
Mapping millions of kilometers of waterways shows that just 37 percent of rivers longer than 1,000 kilometers remain unchained by human activities.
- Archaeology
Ancient South American populations dipped due to an erratic climate
Scientists link bouts of intense rainfall and drought around 8,600 to 6,000 years ago to declining numbers of South American hunter-gatherers.
