1,393 results
- Paleontology
Woolly mammoths’ last request: Got water?
Woolly mammoths survived on an Alaskan island thousands of years after mainland mammoths went extinct. But they died out when their lakes dried up, thanks to a warming climate and rising sea levels.
- Life
1.56-billion-year-old fossils add drama to Earth’s ‘boring billion’
Ancient multicellular eukaryotes big enough to be seen by the naked eye discovered in 1.56-billion-year-old rock in China may be an ancestor of modern algae.
- Animals
Algal toxin impairs sea lion memory
California sea lions that have brain damage linked to domoic acid poisoning have impaired spatial memory, a new study finds.
- Genetics
Jumping genes play a big role in what makes us human
Jumping genes have been a powerful force in human evolution.
- Animals
Venomous fish have evolved many ways to inflict pain
Fish venom shows great diversity and is being studied to treat pain, cancer and other diseases.
- Animals
Piggybacking tadpoles are epic food beggars
Tadpoles beg so frantically among mimic poison frogs that researchers check to see whether they’re just scamming.
- Oceans
Melissa Omand’s clever tech follows the fate of ocean carbon
Drawn to the water early, oceanographer Melissa Omand now leads research cruises studying how carbon and nutrients move through the seas.
- Oceans
Widespread coral bleaching threatens world’s reefs
The world’s corals are experiencing their third major bleaching event in 17 years.
- Physics
Pentaquarks, locked-in syndrome and more reader feedback
Readers discuss pentaquark sightings, delightful diatoms and whether an ancient four-legged fossil was actually a snake.
- Animals
Devils Hole pupfish may not have been so isolated for so long
New genetic study questions Devils Hole pupfish’s supposed history of long isolation.
- Genetics
A circadian clock transplant gives E. coli rhythm
Clockworks from algae built into E. coli may hold future jet lag treatment.
- Life
The origin of biological clocks
Most of Earth’s creatures keep time with the planet’s day/night cycle. Scientists are still debating how and why the circadian clocks that govern biological timekeeping evolved.
