All Stories
- Animals
Streaked shearwaters poop only while flying over the ocean
In-flight defecation may help the birds stay away from feces that can contain pathogens such as bird flu while also fertilizing the ocean.
- Archaeology
Ancient hominids made long road trips to collect stone for tools
A Kenyan site shows early hominids transported stone 13 kilometers for toolmaking as early as 2.6 million years ago.
- Astronomy
The oldest known black hole formed more than 13.3 billion years ago
The Webb telescope found that a far-off little red dot is the oldest known black hole, shrouded by gas that could help explain the ruby color.
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Cold Cuts Crossword
Solve our latest interactive crossword. We'll publish science-themed crosswords and math puzzles on alternating months.
- Animals
A single protein makes lovesick flies spill their guts
Producing a male-specific protein in digestion-related neurons may have led to the evolution of an odd “romantic” barfing behavior in one species of fruit flies.
- Planetary Science
How alien ‘canals’ sparked debate over life on Mars
In The Martians, journalist David Baron recounts scientific and public debate over purported intelligent life on the Red Planet.
- Planetary Science
Cosmic rays could, in theory, sustain life on other worlds
The hypothesis could extend the search for extraterrestrial life to include frigid planets with thin atmospheres and underground water.
- Environment
A glacier burst, flooding Juneau. Again. This one broke records
A warming climate is behind growing floods of glacier meltwater in Alaska’s capital. Scientists say it’s the new normal.
- Anthropology
A 104-centimeter-long hair could rewrite recordkeeping in Inca society
Analysis of the hair used in a knotted device reveals the owner’s simple diet. That suggests commoners, not just the elite, kept records in Inca society.
- Physics
Sunlight is all that’s needed to keep these tiny aircraft aloft
Sun-powered fliers could use photophoretic forces to hover in the mesosphere, gathering data from a region off limits to planes and balloons.
- Animals
Warm autumns could be a driver in monarch butterflies’ decline
In the lab, higher temperatures during fall migration led monarchs to break their reproductive pause, increasing their risk of death.
- Humans
Stopping menopausal hormones may require more bone monitoring
Women face a small rise in fracture risk within 10 years of stopping therapy, suggesting the need for additional monitoring.
