Life
- Animals
Some mysteries remain about why dogs wag their tails
Wagging is a form of communication, with different wags meaning different things, but scientists know little about the behavior’s evolution in dogs.
- Climate
Numbats are built to hold heat, making climate change extra risky for the marsupials
New thermal imaging shows how fast numbats’ surface temperature rises even at relatively reasonable temperatures.
- Paleontology
The oldest known fossilized skin shows how life adapted to land
The nearly 290 million-year-old cast belonged to a species of amniotes, four-legged vertebrates that today comprises all reptiles, birds and mammals.
- Genetics
How ancient herders rewrote northern Europeans’ genetic story
New DNA analyses show the extent of the Yamnaya people’s genetic reach starting 5,000 years ago and how it made descendants prone to diseases like MS.
- Paleontology
Earth’s largest ape went extinct 100,000 years earlier than once thought
Habitat changes drove the demise of Gigantopithecus blacki, a new study reports. The find could hold clues for similarly imperiled orangutans.
- Paleontology
The real culprit in a 19th century dinosaur whodunit is finally revealed
Contrary to the stories handed down among paleontologists, creationism wasn’t to blame for the destruction of Central Park’s dinosaurs.
- Life
Here’s how poison dart frogs safely hoard toxins in their skin
A protein found in frog bodies may help the amphibians collect and transport toxins from their food to their skin for chemical defense.
- Anthropology
Ancient primates’ unchipped teeth hint that they ate mostly fruit
Of more than 400 teeth collected, just 21 were chipped, suggesting that early primate diets were soft on their choppers.
- Life
Bacteria fossils hold the oldest signs of machinery needed for photosynthesis
Microfossils from Australia suggest that cyanobacteria evolved structures for oxygen-producing photosynthesis by 1.78 billion years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Fetuses make a protein that causes morning sickness in pregnancy
A hormone called GDF15 triggers a part of the brain involved in nausea and vomiting, a new study finds. Blocking its action may lead to treatments.
- Animals
Ant face patterns like swirls and stubble might have practical value
Reviewing thousands of ant photos hints that facial surface patterns might offer benefits, like structural support or abrasion protection.
- Animals
Reindeer can sleep while they chew
Brain waves and behaviors suggest that reindeer can doze while chewing, a timesaving strategy for sleeping under tough conditions.
