All Stories
- Chemistry
Enzyme forges carbon-silicon bonds with a little human help
A few tweaks to an enzyme help it link carbon to silicon — a match not found in nature.
- Life
Public, doctors alike confused about food allergies
Gaps in understanding food allergies cause confusion and make it difficult to prevent, diagnose and treat them.
- Earth
Wastewater cap could dunk Oklahoma quake risk
Regulation limiting the injection of wastewater into underground wells could return Oklahoma’s earthquake risk to historical background levels within a few years.
- Anthropology
Readers ponder hominid hookups and more
Neandertal evolution, quantum internet and more in reader feedback.
- Astronomy
Scientific success depends on finding light in darkness
Editor in chief Eva Emerson discusses using cleverness and persistence to uncover scientific truths.
- Anthropology
Buff upper arms let Lucy climb trees
Australopithecus afarensis’ heavily built arms supported tree climbing, scans of Lucy’s fossils suggest.
- Chemistry
Names for four new elements get seal of approval
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has approved the proposed names for the four elements added to the periodic table in December 2015.
- Chemistry
Names for four new elements get seal of approval
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has approved the proposed names for the four elements added to the periodic table in December 2015.
- Life
Mitochondria variants battle for cell supremacy
Some mitochondria are more competitive than others, which could complicate treatments for mitochondrial diseases.
- Planetary Science
Ice gave Pluto a heavy heart
Sputnik Planitia, the left half of Pluto’s heart-shaped region, might have been carved out by the weight of thick layers of ice built up billions of years ago.
- Animals
Plant-eating mammals sport bigger bellies than meat eaters
Mammalian plant eaters have bigger torsos than meat eaters, a new analysis confirms, but the same might not have held true for dinosaurs.
- Animals
Animals give clues to the origins of human number crunching
Guppies, dogs, chickens, crows, spiders — lots of animals have number sense without knowing numbers.
