All Stories

  1. Earth

    Before ancient Egyptians, nature sculpted sphinxes. Here’s how

    Steady winds can carve landforms called yardangs — thought to have inspired the Great Sphinx of Gaza — from featureless blobs, a new study suggests.

    By
  2. Animals

    This bird hasn’t been seen in 38 years. Its song may help track it down

    Using bioacoustics, South American scientists are eavesdropping on a forest in hopes of hearing the song of the long-missing purple-winged ground dove.

    By
  3. Climate

    Capturing methane from the air would slow global warming. Can it be done?

    Removing methane from the atmosphere requires different technology from removing carbon dioxide. Scientists are taking on the challenge.

    By
  4. Animals

    One mountain in Brazil is home to a surprising number of these parasitic wasps

    Darwin wasps were thought to prefer temperate areas. But researchers scoured a mountain in the Brazilian tropics and found nearly a hundred species.

    By
  5. Life

    Some picky Australian mosquitoes may target frog nostrils for blood

    The insects seem to sip from nowhere else on frogs’ bodies. Thinner skin or denser blood vessels near the nostrils might explain why.

    By
  6. Science & Society

    Reindeer herders and scientists collaborate to understand Arctic warming

    Siberian reindeer herders and scientists are working together to figure out how to predict rain-on-snow events that turn tundra into deadly ice.

    By
  7. Astronomy

    A rare, extremely energetic cosmic ray has mysterious origins

    In 1991, physicists spotted a cosmic ray with so much energy it warranted an ‘OMG.’ Now that energetic particle has a new companion.

    By
  8. Animals

    These bats are the only mammals known to mate more like birds

    Male serotine bats have penises too large for penetration. To mate, the animals rub their genitals against each other, somewhat like birds’ cloacal kiss.

    By
  9. Health & Medicine

    A brain-monitoring device may one day take the guesswork out of anesthesia

    The automated device pairing brain activity and dosing kept two macaques sedated for 125 minutes, raising hopes of precision anesthesia for people.

    By
  10. Animals

    The first embryos from a mammal have now been grown in space

    Mouse embryos in space can develop into clusters of cells called blastocysts. The result is a step toward understanding how human embryos will fare.

    By
  11. Science & Society

    Why the Thanksgiving myth persists, according to science

    The science of collective memory — and a desire for clear origin stories — may explain the endurance of the Thanksgiving myth despite a messier reality.

    By
  12. Life

    Crabs left the sea not once, but several times, in their evolution

    A new study is the most comprehensive analysis yet of the evolution of “true crabs.”

    By