All Stories
- Oceans
Tiny bits of iron may explain why some icebergs are green
Scientists originally thought the green hue of some icebergs came from carbon particles. Instead, iron oxides may color the ice.
- Life
This spider slingshots itself at extreme speeds to catch prey
By winding up its web like a slingshot, the slingshot spider achieves an acceleration rate far faster than a cheetah’s.
- Astronomy
The first planet Kepler spotted has finally been confirmed 10 years later
Astronomers had dismissed the first exoplanet candidate spotted by the Kepler space telescope as a false alarm.
- Genetics
A CRISPR spin-off causes unintended typos in DNA
One type of CRISPR gene editor makes frequent and widespread mistakes, studies in mice and rice reveal.
- Health & Medicine
A second HIV patient has gone into remission after a stem cell transplant
A second person with HIV has gone into remission after receiving blood stem cells from a donor unable to make a protein needed by the virus.
- Health & Medicine
Ripples race in the brain as memories are recalled
A fast brain wave called a ripple often came before a person’s correct answer on a memory test.
- Archaeology
A 2,000-year-old tattoo tool is the oldest in western North America
The artifact is made of two pigment-stained cactus spines, and has been sitting in storage since its discovery in 1972.
- Cosmology
Hidden ancient neutrinos may shape the patterns of galaxies
The gravitational pull of subatomic particles born in the universe’s first second seem to influence how galaxies cluster into rings.
- Science & Society
Welfare reforms may have hurt some single moms’ teenage kids
Welfare reform was meant to help the next generation, but making moms work and capping aid has led to more harm than gain, says a new study.
- Animals
Bears that eat ‘junk food’ may hibernate less and age faster
Wild black bears snacking on leftovers of sugary, highly processed foods in Colorado show possible signs of faster cellular wear.
- Life
Eating a lot of fiber could improve some cancer treatments
A high-fiber diet, which boosts the diversity of gut microbes, may make an immune therapy against skin cancer more effective.
- Chemistry
Here’s how long the periodic table’s unstable elements last
Most elements on the periodic table have at least one stable form. But some don’t. Here’s how long those unstable members endure.
