All Stories
- Health & Medicine
Certain birth defects are on the rise since Zika arrived in the U.S.
The rate of certain birth defects is much higher in babies born to Zika-infected mothers in the United States, the CDC reports.
- Computing
Winning against a computer isn’t in the cards for poker pros
Poker-playing computers beat professional players at heads-up no-limit Texas Hold’em.
- Earth
Earth’s mantle may be hotter than thought
Earth’s mantle is warmer than previously thought, suggests a new experiment that better accounts for water content in rocks.
- Life
Origin of photosynthesis may go further back than estimates from 50 years ago
Analyzing ancient rocks has helped push back the date when photosynthetic organisms first emerged by nearly a billion years.
- Astronomy
Hydrogen volcanoes might boost planets’ potential for life
Volcanoes that spew hydrogen could increase the number of potentially habitable planets in the universe.
- Health & Medicine
Colorectal cancer is on the rise among younger adults
Colorectal cancer rates in the United States have increased in people younger than 50.
- Animals
Wild elephants clock shortest shut-eye recorded for mammals
Among mammals, wild elephants may need the least amount of sleep, new measurements suggest.
By Susan Milius - Paleontology
Oldest microfossils suggest life thrived on Earth about 4 billion years ago
A new claim for the oldest microfossils on Earth suggests that life may have originated in hydrothermal vents, but some scientists have doubts.
By Meghan Rosen - Humans
Transgender children are at greater risk of mental health problems
The Trump administration has rescinded federal protections for transgender kids in public schools, a move that the American Academy of Pediatrics condemns.
- Science & Society
Scientists may work to prevent bias, but they don’t always say so
Scientists may do the work to prevent bias in their experiments — but they aren’t telling other scientists about it, two new studies show.
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s ‘Death Star’ moon may not conceal ocean after all
A lack of cracks on Mimas suggests that the icy moon of Saturn doesn’t conceal a subsurface ocean of liquid water.
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s ‘Death Star’ moon may not conceal an ocean after all
A lack of cracks on Mimas suggests that the icy moon of Saturn doesn’t conceal a subsurface ocean of liquid water.