Life
- Life
Hippos might be ferocious fighters, but their big teeth make them terrible chewers
Among plant eaters, hippos are the worst chewers. Their huge tusks and front teeth keep the jaw from moving side to side to grind food, a study finds.
- Animals
A global report finds amphibians are still in peril. But it’s not all bad news
A survey of about 8,000 amphibian species provides the latest update on extinction risk trends stretching back to 1980.
- Animals
In noisy environs, pied tamarins are using smell more often to communicate
Groups of the primate, native to Brazil, complement vocalizations with scent-marking behavior to alert other tamarins to dangers in their urban home.
- Plants
The first citrus fruits may have come from southern China
An in-depth look at the orange family tree shows the oldest Citrus ancestors arrived in Asia on the Indian tectonic plate over 25 million years ago.
- Animals
The right bacterial mix could help frogs take the heat
Wood frog tadpoles that receive a transplant of green frog bacteria can swim in warm waters, revealing another role for microbiomes: heat tolerance.
- Paleontology
New computer analysis hints volcanism killed the dinosaurs, not an asteroid
Scientists take a creative approach to investigating what caused the mass extinction 66 million years ago, but the debate is far from settled.
- Health & Medicine
How a deadly fungus is so good at sticking to skin and other surfaces
One of Candida auris’ scary superpowers is its stick-to-itiveness. Unlike other fungi, the pathogen uses electrical charges to glom onto things.
- Paleontology
A one-of-a-kind trilobite fossil hints at what and how these creatures ate
The preserved contents suggest the trilobite fed almost continuously and had a gut environment with an alkaline or neutral pH, researchers say.
- Animals
Seen Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster? Data suggest the odds are low
Floe Foxon is a data scientist by day. But in his free time, he applies his skills to astronomy, cryptology and sightings of mythical creatures.
- Animals
These brainless jellyfish use their eyes and bundles of nerves to learn
No brain? No problem for Caribbean box jellyfish. Their seemingly simple nervous systems can learn to avoid obstacles on sight, a study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
How brain implants are treating depression
This six-part series follows people whose lives have been changed by an experimental treatment called deep brain stimulation.
- Neuroscience
Today’s depression treatments don’t help everyone
In the second story in the series, deep brain stimulation is a last resort for some people with depression.
