All Stories

Health & Medicine

Concern expands over Zika birth defects

Infection with Zika virus in utero can trigger a spectrum of birth defects beyond microcephaly, and could potentially cause long-term health problems as well.

Paleontology

Ancient microbe fossils show earliest evidence of shell making

Armor-plated, 809-million-year-old fossilized microbes discovered in Canada are the oldest known evidence of shell making.

Astronomy

Solar system sits within major spiral arm of Milky Way

The solar system appears to live in one of the major spiral arms of the Milky Way, not in an offshoot as previously thought.

Astronomy

Solar system sits within a major spiral arm of the Milky Way

The solar system appears to live in one of the major spiral arms of the Milky Way, not in an offshoot as previously thought.

Animals

New case emerging for Culex mosquito as unexpected Zika spreader

The much-debated proposal that a Culex mosquito could help spread Zika gets some international support.

Genetics

First ‘three-parent baby’ born from nuclear transfer

The first human baby produced through spindle nuclear transfer was born in April, New Scientist reports.

Health & Medicine

Measles has been eliminated in the Americas, WHO says

Thanks to wide-spread vaccination against the viral disease, measles has officially been declared eliminated from the Americas.

Animals

Barnacles track whale migration

The mix of oxygen isotopes in the shells of barnacles that latch on to baleen whales may divulge how whale migration routes have changed over millions of years.

Tech

Wi-Fi can help house distinguish between members

Using Wi-Fi, computers could one day identify individual family members in a smart home.

Planetary Science

Europa spouting off again

Plumes of presumably water erupt from the surface of Jupiter’s frozen moon Europa, in images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Climate

Methane didn’t warm ancient Earth, new simulations suggest

Scarce oxygen and abundant sulfate prevented methane from accumulating enough to keep Earth warm hundreds of millions of years ago, reviving the faint young sun paradox.

Planetary Science

Mercury’s surface still changing

A population of small cliffs on Mercury suggests that the planet might have been tectonically active in the last 50 million years.