All Stories
- Physics
Transfixing tetrahedrons
Dervishes are Sufi Muslims who represent the revolving heavens with their spinning dance.
- Plants
Plants’ ATP collector found
Scientists identified two genes that write the code for the molecules, or receptors, that pull ATP into plant cells.
- Animals
Jellyfish bloom in spring when winter ‘timer’ dings
The coordinated appearance of the adult form of the animal is the result of a metamorphosis hormone that accumulates during winter months.
- Animals
African vultures follow the dead, not the herd
Wildebeest may be numerous, but they’re not attractive to carrion-eating birds unless they’re about to die.
- Animals
Head cam shows how falcons track prey
Falcons use motion camouflage to capture flying prey, a new study shows.
- Genetics
Life at the Speed of Light
Biology has come a long way from the days of mixing things in petri dishes and hoping something interesting happens. In his new book, Venter introduces readers to a future of precise biological engineering.
- Anthropology
Skulls from ancient London suggest ritual decapitations
The city’s Roman rulers had special watery places to keep the heads of military enemies or vanquished gladiators.
- Animals
Swimming dolphins don’t need to cheat
Dolphins swimming through bubbles burst old notion of underpowered muscles.
- Astronomy
Planet found around sun twin in star cluster
The exoplanet YBP1194b orbits a twin of the sun in the star cluster Messier 67. Astronomers found three planets orbiting stars in the cluster.
- Life
V-flying birds pick efficient flapping pattern
Ibises time their flaps to catch a boost from a neighbor’s wing.
- Ecosystems
Trees’ growth keeps climbing with age
Older trees pack on weight faster, making them potentially the best carbon collectors.
- Genetics
Scorpion’s sting evolved from insects’ defensive proteins
With a single genetic mutation, an insect’s defensive proteins can be transformed into a toxin that gives scorpions their signature sting, a new study shows.
