All Stories
- Humans
Humans’ entry into Europe pushed earlier
Homo sapiens fossils from Italy and England point to an early arrival and a longer time living alongside Neandertals.
- Physics
The sound of screech
Auditory experts decipher the blood-curdling nature of fingernails on a chalkboard.
- Space
The Drake Equation: All in the family
On November 1, the formula for estimating the abundance of extraterrestrial life in our galaxy celebrates its 50th birthday. It’s known as the Drake equation for its creator, Frank Drake, who is also my father.
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- Life
Nearness key in microbe DNA swaps
Close quarters, like those inside the human body, are the most important factor in determining how often bacteria pick up one another’s genes.
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Climate’s effect on extreme weather is no game of chance
Climate change is supposed to be about climate, you’d think — not weather. After all, climate is what you expect in the long term, like how bad the average winter will be; weather is what you get day to day, like whether there will be frost on Halloween night. Predicting even next week’s weather often seems like […]
- Health & Medicine
Brain gene activity changes through life
Studies track biochemical patterns from just after conception to old age.
- Humans
Facebook value overstated, study finds
Some estimates of the social networking site's worth appear to make impossible assumptions.
- Psychology
Digital bounty hunters unleashed
Internet technique shows promise as fast way to mobilize huge problem-solving teams.
- Life
Python’s heart-restoring elixir works in mice
A chemical brew used by snakes to build cardiac muscle could have medical applications.
- Space
Chronicles of Lutetia
The surprising composition and terrain of an asteroid may provide a variety of lessons about the solar system.
