All Stories
- Anthropology
Ancient farming populations went boom, then bust
Agriculture’s introduction led to big falls as well as rises in numbers of Europeans.
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- Animals
The giraffes that sailed to medieval China
Chinese exploration of the world is often left out of Western textbooks (at least it was left out of mine), but for a brief period, from 1405 to 1433, the Chinese under Ming emperor Yongle sent out numerous trade missions that reached as far as present-day Kenya. During the fourth expedition, which left China in 1413, part of the fleet led by commander Zheng He sailed to Bengal in India, where in 1414 they met envoys from the African coastal state of Malindi (now part of Kenya). The men from Malindi had brought with them as tribute giraffes, and they gave one of those giraffes to the Chinese, who took it home.
- Microbes
Microbes signal deceased’s time of death
In a study using mice, germs accompany the body’s decay in a consistent time sequence.
- Animals
Centipede venom fights pain
Molecule from toxin makes mice less sensitive to pain, may work as well as morphine.
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- Materials Science
Chip curves space-time
A manipulated material could help model general relativity in the lab.
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- Life
Dangerous Digs
By properly managing a tumor cell’s microenvironment, cancer researchers are making cancer something people live with, not die from.
- Climate
Humans found guilty in climate change
International panel’s confidence increases that society is responsible for global warming.
- Oceans
Greenland Sea warming faster than world ocean
Deep water temperature of Greenland Sea rises 0.3 degrees Celsius in 30 years.
