All Stories

  1. Anthropology

    Oldest evidence of cancer in human family tree found

    Bony growths on fossils may push origins of this disease way back in the Stone Age.

    By Bruce Bower
  2. Health & Medicine

    Zika-carrying mosquitoes eluding control efforts in Miami

    Florida adds 10 new cases of locally acquired Zika infection, prompting the CDC to issue travel warning for pregnant women. Mosquitoes in Miami may be resistant to insecticides.

    By Meghan Rosen
  3. Paleontology

    Woolly mammoths’ last request: Got water?

    Woolly mammoths survived on an Alaskan island thousands of years after mainland mammoths went extinct. But they died out when their lakes dried up, thanks to a warming climate and rising sea levels.

    By Laurel Hamers
  4. Health & Medicine

    Mosquitoes in Florida now spreading Zika virus, health officials warn

    Florida adds 10 new cases of locally acquired Zika infection, prompting the CDC to issue travel warning for pregnant women. Mosquitoes in Miami may be resistant to insecticides.

    By Meghan Rosen
  5. Health & Medicine

    Florida mosquitoes likely spreading Zika

    Mosquitoes in Florida carrying the Zika virus are probably to blame for four recent cases of infection.

    By Meghan Rosen
  6. Animals

    Pup kidnapping has a happy ending when a seal gets two moms

    A female fur seal kidnapped another seal’s pup. But this turned out to be a positive the young seal, scientists found.

    By Sarah Zielinski
  7. Archaeology

    Parasitic worm eggs found on Silk Road latrine artifacts

    Microscopic study of latrine finds indicates disease spread along ancient Asian trade route.

    By Bruce Bower
  8. Neuroscience

    Gift-giving brain cells are lifeline to injured nerve cells

    After an injury, astrocytes give nerve cells a gift of mitochondria, mouse study suggests.

    By Laura Sanders
  9. Health & Medicine

    This week in Zika: Revised risk, new mosquito threat, U.S. on the brink

    First potential cases of locally spread Zika crop up in the continental United States, estimates of infection risk, antibodies that can fight the virus and a new mosquito species that may be able to carry Zika.

    By Meghan Rosen
  10. Plants

    Why a parasitic vine can’t take a bite out of tomatoes

    Cultivated tomatoes fend off parasitic vines as they would microbes.

    By Helen Thompson
  11. Animals

    How Houdini tadpoles escape certain death

    High-speed video of red-eyed tree frog embryos reveals the secrets to their getaway plans.

    By Helen Thompson
  12. Life

    Human eye spots single photons

    Human eyes are sensitive enough to detect individual particles of light.

    By Emily Conover