All Stories
- Astronomy
Japan’s latest X-ray telescope is officially dead
The Japanese space agency has officially declared its latest X-ray telescope a loss.
- Math
Claude Shannon’s information theory built the foundation for the digital era
Claude Shannon, born 100 years ago, devised the mathematical representation of information that made the digital era possible.
- Plants
Nightshade plants bleed sugar as a call to ants for backup
Bittersweet nightshade produces sugary wound goo to lure in ant protectors that eat herbivores, researchers have found.
- Animals
Dragons sleep like mammals and birds
Some lizards may sleep in the same way as mammals and birds, a new brain wave study finds.
- Neuroscience
Ions may be in charge of when you sleep and wake
The recipe for sleep and wake may depend on ions.
- Animals
Chemical behind popcorn’s aroma gives a bearcat its signature scent
Bearcats smell like popcorn. Now scientists now why: The chemical responsible for popcorn’s alluring scent has been found in bearcat pee.
- Animals
Peacocks twerk to shake their tail feathers
Researchers reveal the biomechanics of the peacock mating dance.
- Neuroscience
Words’ meanings mapped in the brain
Language isn’t just confined to one region of the brain: The meaning of words spark activity all over the cerebral cortex.
- Planetary Science
Hubble telescope finds small moon orbiting dwarf planet Makemake
Hubble Space Telescope images from April 2015 show that the dwarf planet Makemake has a tiny moon.
- Planetary Science
Tiny moon orbits dwarf planet
Hubble Space Telescope images from April 2015 show that the dwarf planet Makemake has a tiny moon.
- Animals
How animal poop could be key in solving echidna mystery
The western long-beaked echidna hasn’t been seen in Australia in 10,000 years. But DNA in scat could reveal its presence.
- Paleontology
Beetle saved in amber had helicopter wings
For the first time, scientists report the fossilized remains of two tiny Jacobson’s Beetles, preserved in amber for at least 37 million years.
