All Stories
- Animals
Tail vibrations may have preceded evolution of rattlesnake rattle
The rattle on a rattlesnake evolved just once. A new study contends it may have come out of a common behavior — tail vibration — that snakes use to deter predators.
- Animals
For snowy owls, wintering on the prairie might be normal
Some snowy owls leave the Arctic for winter. That’s not a desperate move, new study says.
- Humans
Brain’s blood appetite grew faster than its size
Over evolutionary time, the energy demands of hominid brains increased faster than their volume, a new study finds.
- Astronomy
Radio signal probably not from extraterrestrials
A possible radio signal from extraterrestrials probably originated a lot closer to home.
- Animals
Dog brains divide language tasks much like humans do
Dogs understand what we say separately from how we say it.
- Health & Medicine
Tasmanian devils evolve resistance to contagious cancer
Tasmanian devils are evolving resistance to a deadly contagious cancer.
- Health & Medicine
Mosquito moms can pass Zika to offspring
In the lab, Zika virus can pass from a female mosquito to her eggs, suggesting how infections can flare up again after adult insects dwindle.
- Anthropology
Fossil autopsy claims Lucy fell from tree
A contested study suggests a famous fossil ancestor plunged to her death.
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- Physics
Bacteria-sized molecules created in lab
Cesium atoms with high-energy electrons pair up to form giant molecules.
- Planetary Science
Spacecraft reveal diversity in solar system’s landscapes
The latest generation of interplanetary spacecraft have revealed diverse landscapes on planets, asteroids and comets throughout the solar system.
- Planetary Science
Venus once possibly habitable, study suggests
Venus might have once been habitable and home to a shallow ocean.
