All Stories

  1. Plants

    Island life prompts evolution of larger plant seeds

    In 40 species of plants, the island versions of seeds were larger than mainland counterparts, perhaps to keep the seeds from being lost at sea.

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  2. Anthropology

    Richard III to be reburied in Leicester Cathedral

    The remains of Richard III will be reburied in Leicester, a British court ruled on May 23.

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  3. Quantum Physics

    Nobel laureates offer new interpretations of quantum mysteries

    Two Nobel laureates offer novel interpretations to explain the mysteries of quantum mechanics.

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  4. Tech

    Coffee beans sing distinct tune

    Measuring the crackling noises made by roasting coffee beans could help engineers create automatic acoustic roasters.

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  5. Life

    Drab female birds had more colorful evolution

    Males weren’t the main players in evolution of sex differences in avian plumage.

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  6. Astronomy

    Sun shines new life on Kepler space telescope

    NASA approved a proposal to bring the crippled Kepler spacecraft back to life, using sunlight as balance to help the telescope search for planets and more.

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  7. Psychology

    Recessions take a lasting toll on narcissism

    Coming of age in hard economic times makes people less likely to feel superior and entitled later in life.

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  8. Life

    Flightless birds’ history upset by ancient DNA

    The closest known relatives of New Zealand’s small, flightless kiwis were Madagascar’s elephant birds, so ancestors must have done some flying rather than just drifting with continents.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Urine is not sterile, and neither is the rest of you

    Despite what the Internet says, urine does contain bacteria, a new study finds. And so does your brain, the womb, and pretty much everywhere else.

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  10. Computing

    Diffusion may keep big knots out of DNA

    A new computer simulation shows the way two knots on a strand of DNA could pass through each other without adding any additional snarls.

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  11. Physics

    U.S. physics strategy calls for greater global collaboration

    In a time of tightened budgets, the U.S. particle physics community must increase international collaboration without sacrificing its position as a leader in the field, according to a new report.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Parasite protein offers new hope for malaria vaccine

    A newly discovered malarial protein triggers the immune system to trap disease-causing parasites in red blood cells. The protein offers scientists a promising target for vaccines.

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