Life

  1. Animals

    Surgeon aims to diagnose deformities of extinct saber-toothed cats

    Using CT scans, one orthopedic surgeon is on a quest to diagnose deformities in long-dead saber-toothed cats.

    By
  2. Climate

    During El Niño, the tropics emit more carbon dioxide

    El Niño increases carbon emissions from the tropics — mimicking future climate change.

    By
  3. Neuroscience

    There’s no rest for the brain’s mapmakers

    Navigational grid cells stay on the job during sleep.

    By
  4. Genetics

    We’re more Neandertal than we thought

    Neandertals contributed more to human traits than previously thought.

    By
  5. Animals

    New deep-sea sponge could play a starring role in monitoring ocean health

    A new species of sponge that dwells on metal-rich rocks could help scientists track the environmental impact of deep-sea mining.

    By
  6. Animals

    Ancient whale turns up on wrong side of the world

    A Southern Hemisphere whale species was briefly a northern resident.

    By
  7. Tech

    Superbugs may meet their match in these nanoparticles

    Quantum dots and antibiotics hit bacteria with a one-two punch.

    By
  8. Neuroscience

    New book offers a peek into the mind of Oliver Sacks

    The wide-ranging essays in Oliver Sacks’ ‘The River of Consciousness’ contemplate evolution, memory and more.

    By
  9. Agriculture

    Much of the world’s honey now contains bee-harming pesticides

    A controversial group of chemicals called neonicotinoids has a global impact, tests of honey samples show.

    By
  10. Genetics

    Ancient humans avoided inbreeding by networking

    Ancient DNA expands foragers’ social, mating networks.

    By
  11. Plants

    José Dinneny rethinks how plants hunt for water

    Plant biologist José Dinneny probes the very beginnings of root development, which may have important implications for growing food in a changing climate.

    By
  12. Life

    KC Huang probes basic questions of bacterial life

    A physicist by training, Kerwyn Casey Huang tries to understand cell shape, movement and growth.

    By