All Stories
- Life
British red squirrels serve as leprosy reservoir
Red squirrels in the British Isles can harbor the bacteria that cause leprosy.
- Neuroscience
Giggling rats help reveal how brain creates joy
Rats relish a good tickle, which activates nerve cells in a part of the brain that detects touch.
- Life
Protein mobs kill cells that most need those proteins to survive
A protein engineered to aggregate gives clues about how clumpy proteins kill brain cells.
- Paleontology
Dragon dinosaur met a muddy end
‘Mud dragon’ fossil discovered in China suggests that dinosaurs’ last days were an active time of evolution.
- Archaeology
Stone adze points to ancient burial rituals in Ireland
A polished stone tool discovered in Ireland’s earliest known gravesite helps scientists revive an ancient burial ceremony.
- Environment
Ocean plastic emits chemical that may trick seabirds into eating trash
Some seabirds might be eating plastic because it emits a chemical that smells like food.
- Environment
Ocean plastic emits chemical that tricks seabirds into eating trash
Some seabirds might be eating plastic because it emits a chemical that smells like food.
- Climate
If you thought 2015 was hot, just wait
The record-setting global temperatures seen in 2015 could be the “new normal” as soon as the 2020s.
- Astronomy
Young planets carve rings and spirals in the gas around their suns
New telescope images show rings and spiral arms in disks encircling young stars, suggesting the presence of actively growing planets.
- Animals
Old bonobos have bad eyesight — just like us
As bonobos age, they lose their ability to see things close up, a new study suggests.
- Climate
CO2-loving plants can counter human emissions
Plants temporarily halted the acceleration of rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, new research suggests.
- Animals
Most illegal ivory is less than three years old
Most of the ivory seized by law enforcement in the last decade doesn’t come from elephants poached many years ago.
