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Animals

These hummingbirds aim their singing tail feathers to wow mates

Acoustic cameras reveal how male Costa’s hummingbirds can aim the sound produced by fluttering tail feathers during courtship dives.

Astronomy

With the launch of TESS, NASA will boost its search for exoplanets

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite will set the stage for the next chapter of exoplanet exploration.

Paleontology

Colorful moth wings date back to the dinosaur era

Microscopic structures that scatter light to give color to the wings of modern butterflies and moths date back almost 200 million years.

Physics

Einstein’s general relativity reveals new quirk of Mercury’s orbit

A tiny effect of general relativity on Mercury’s orbit has been calculated for the first time.

Health & Medicine

50 years on, vaccines have eliminated measles from the Americas

Thanks to high vaccination rates, measles has mostly disappeared from the Americas.

Oceans

Ocean heat waves are becoming more common and lasting longer

Over the last 100 years, the world’s oceans have sweltered through a rising number of heat waves.

Microbes

This material uses energy from ambient light to kill hospital superbugs

A quantum dot–powered material could help reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections, including those with drug-resistant bacteria.

Health & Medicine

World’s hottest pepper may have triggered this man’s severe headaches

A man ate one of the hottest peppers in the world. About a minute later, his head began pounding.

Tech

A new soft bot mimics octopuses and inchworms to climb walls

A new soft robot that scales walls could help with surveillance or building inspections.

Anthropology

Finger fossil puts people in Arabia at least 86,000 years ago

A desert discovery suggests that Arabia was an ancient human destination.

Particle Physics

The search for mysterious dark matter underdogs steps up

Dark matter particles called axions are finally being put to the test.

Health & Medicine

Delusions of skin infestation may not be so rare

Delusional infestation, an unwavering belief that one’s skin is overrun with creatures or objects, may not be as rare as previously thought, researchers say.