Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
To climb trees, cicadas look to the shadows
Tree-climbing cicadas find their perches by looking for patches of darkness, a strategy known as skototaxis.
- Archaeology
The oldest known dice date back about 12,000 years in North America
A study of ancient artifacts suggests Native American dice games began thousands of years earlier than previously documented.
- Paleontology
A fossil reveals early relatives of spiders — armed with claws
A Utah fossil shows early relatives of spiders and scorpions already had distinctive front claws 500 million years ago.
- Animals
Secrets of the Bees zooms in on life in a hive
A new documentary available on Disney+ and Hulu appeals to our sense of wonder to highlight why bees need saving.
- Animals
How snakes defy gravity to stand tall
Limbless tree snakes can lift most of their body into the air without toppling. They manage this by focusing all their bending forces at their base.
- Animals
Watch the first video of a sperm whale birth captured by scientists
In a sperm whale birth recorded in more intimate detail than ever before, local whales huddled around the mother and lifted the calf to the surface.
- Paleontology
Early apes may not have evolved in East Africa
Fossil jaw remains found in Egypt suggest that the earliest modern apes evolved in North Africa, not in East Africa where most fossils have been found.
- Animals
When were dogs domesticated? The oldest known dog DNA offers clues
Two new studies suggest that genetically stable dogs were living among humans in Europe by about 14,000 years ago.
- Neuroscience
Clumps of mouse brain cells can learn to play a virtual game
Sure, playing video game is fun. But the ability of tiny brain organoids to pick up a skill could provide insight into how healthy brains work.
- Physics
These insects fly with their legs. Physics explains how
Phantom crane flies change the angle of their splayed legs to increase or reduce drag, helping them navigate varying winds.
- Animals
Female giant rainforest mantises grow up to strike harder than males
Scientists tracked mantis strike force from youth to adulthood, showing females eventually hit far harder than males. Why is a mystery.
- Space
How realistic is Project Hail Mary?
Ryan Gosling is on a mission to save the sun — and Earth — from star-killing microbes. Science News dissects the science behind the sci-fi movie.
