Life
Sign up for our newsletter
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
A monkey uses a stick to pick its teeth and nose
A wild bearded capuchin monkey in Brazil was caught using tools to pick its nose and teeth.
By Erin Wayman - Animals
Rabbits leave a mark on soil long after they are gone
Twenty years after rabbits were removed from a sub-Antarctic island, soil fungus has yet to return to normal, a study finds.
- Animals
Same math describes relationship between diverse predators and prey
From lions to plankton, predators have about the same relationship to the amount of prey, a big-scale ecology study predicts.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
How farm life can prevent allergies
Farm dust prevents allergies by turning on an anti-inflammatory enzyme in the cells lining mice’s lungs.
By Meghan Rosen - Life
Unhelpful adaptations can speed up evolution
Unhelpful changes in gene activity stimulate natural selection.
- Paleontology
New dolphin fossil makes a splash
A newly discovered dolphin fossil provides clues to the evolution of river dolphins in the Americas.
- Paleontology
New dolphin fossil makes a splash
A newly discovered dolphin fossil provides clues to the evolution of river dolphins in the Americas.
- Animals
Some jellyfish sting deeper than others
A new study shows that some jellyfish have nematocysts that can sting deep into the skin. That may explain why their sting is so painful.
- Life
New microscope techniques give deepest view yet of living cells
Two new microscopy techniques are helping scientists see smaller structures in living cells than ever glimpsed before.
- Life
New microscope techniques give deepest view yet of living cells
Two new microscopy techniques are helping scientists see smaller structures in living cells than ever glimpsed before.
- Earth
Volcanic activity convicted in Permian extinction
Precision dating confirms that Siberian volcanic eruptions could have triggered the Permian extinction.
- Animals
Coral competitor becomes ally in fight against starfish
On the reef, algae compete with coral. But they may also protect coral from attacks by crown-of-thorns starfish, a new study finds.