All Stories
- Microbes
Bacteria starved in space grow better
Given limited resources microbes in microgravity make more new cells than their counterparts on Earth.
- Climate
Natural aerosols confound climate predictions
Natural aerosol emissions complicate scientists’ attempts to predict future climate change.
- Planetary Science
Meteor explosions like this year’s Russian fireball more common than thought
Chelyabinsk-sized rocks may come to Earth every 30 years, on average.
By Andrew Grant - Paleontology
Oldest known T. Rex relative found in Utah
Researchers say the animal — named the gore king of the southwest — was an early member of the tyrannosaur family.
- Life
Newborns’ weak immunity may allow helpful bacteria to gain a foothold
Though infant immune systems raise risk of infection, they also allow good microbes into the body, study in mice shows.
By Nathan Seppa - Neuroscience
Autism may be detectable in baby’s first months of life
Infants later diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder lose tendency to gaze at others’ eyes during first half-year, researchers find.
- Science & Society
Feedback
Our redesigned cover and the astronomy stories from the Oct. 19 issue get readers' reviews.
- Science & Society
Replacing paradigms requires open minds
Cosmological crises require creativity, but science enforces conformity.
- Animals
Birds avoid the sounds of roads
The sound of cars driving down a road is enough to deter many bird species from an area.
- Animals
‘Bearded ladies’ are less sexy to male lizards
Females with masculine neck marks are passed over as mates.
- Health & Medicine
Knee ligament gets a closer look
Surgeons have done a detailed study of a band of fibrous tissue along the front side of the joint.
- Life
Ice crystals form along cells’ seamlike structures
A detailed view of how ice forms among cells could lead to better tissue preservation.