All Stories
- Animals
Windows may kill up to 988 million birds a year in the United States
Single-family homes and low-rise buildings do much more damage than skyscrapers.
- Animals
Gray seals snack on harbor porpoises
Photo evidence confirms seals' fatal attacks on harbor porpoises in the English Channel, suggesting that declines in the seals' usual fare are forcing the animals to seek out other high-energy food.
- Earth
Grand Canyon’s origin dated to 6 million years ago
Even though parts of the canyon are old, the chasm could not have taken on its grand form until erosion from the Colorado River connected all of the smaller canyons, which was roughly 6 million years ago, scientists argue.
- Genetics
Stone Age Spaniard had blue eyes, dark skin
Genetics of 7,000-year-old skeleton suggests blond hair, pale skin came later.
- Materials Science
Nanotube whiskers could aid robot-human interaction
Tiny hairlike sensors made from nanomaterials are more sensitive than existing devices to detect tiny pressures.
- Climate
Grape expectations
Global warming has delivered long, warm growing seasons and blockbuster vintages to the world’s great wine regions. But by mid-century, excessive heat will push premium wine-making into new territory.
- Earth
Life’s early traces
Tiny tufts, rolls and crinkles in 3.5-billion-year-old rocks add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that cellular life got a relatively quick start on Earth.
- Life
How to tell good gut microbes from bad
Researchers sort out influences of specific bacteria on body fat, the immune system.
- Health & Medicine
Ancient history of canine cancer decoded
A contagious cancer has been plaguing dogs for 11,000 years, a new genetic analysis reveals.
- Animals
Animals were the original twerkers
From black widow spiders to birds and bees, shaking that booty goes way back.
- Humans
Small fetal size early on might carry risks later
A smaller size in first trimester of pregnancy has been linked to heart-health warning signs in childhood.
- Animals
Mantis shrimp’s bizarre visual system may save brainpower
The mantis shrimp sees each color separately with one of a dozen kinds of specialized cells, a system that may help the animal quickly see colors without a lot of brainpower.
