All Stories by Helen Thompson
- Paleontology
New dolphin fossil makes a splash
A newly discovered dolphin fossil provides clues to the evolution of river dolphins in the Americas.
- Paleontology
New dolphin fossil makes a splash
A newly discovered dolphin fossil provides clues to the evolution of river dolphins in the Americas.
- Science & Society
How dollhouse crime scenes schooled 1940s cops
In the 1940s, Frances Glessner Lee’s dollhouse murder dioramas trained investigators to look at crime scenes through a scientific lens.
- Genetics
How Ethiopian highlanders adapted to breathe thin air
Lower levels of a heart protein may help Ethiopian highlanders breathe thin air, researchers report.
- Genetics
Pneumonia bacteria attacks lungs with toxic weaponry
Some strains of the bacteria that causes pneumonia splash lung cells with hydrogen peroxide to mess with DNA and kill cells, a new study suggests.
- Animals
Rare fossils expand evolutionary history of sperm whales
A pygmy fossil unearthed in Panama reveals that the organ the whales use to produce sound and echolocate shrunk over time.
- Animals
Woolly mammoth DNA shows toll of low diversity
A new sequencing analysis of two woolly mammoth genomes reveals evidence of genetic decline due to isolation and inbreeding just prior to extinction.
- Psychology
To reduce stress and anxiety, make yourself invisible
We may not be able to make people invisible, but researchers have discerned its effect on the human mind in a new study.
- Genetics
Mosquito bites might be foretold in genes
Attractiveness to mosquitoes could be inherited, twin study suggests.
- Planetary Science
The moon is about as old as we thought it was
Meteorite heat signatures pinpoint the age of the collision that created the moon — confirming many previous lunar age estimates.
- Life
‘Geographic tongue’ creates unique topography
A condition called ‘geographic tongue’ makes mouth organ appear maplike.
- Planetary Science
Atmospheric water may be giving Saturn its spots
Planetary scientists think that water in Saturn’s atmosphere could be driving the massive storms that appear every few decades in the ringed planet’s atmosphere.
