All Stories
- Humans
Tom Wolfe’s denial of language evolution stumbles over his own words
Tom Wolfe’s book denies that language evolved and attacks Darwin and Chomsky with smugness lacking substance.
- Tech
How to read a book without opening it
New technique allows scientists to read the pages of an ancient text without opening the book.
- Planetary Science
ExoMars mission set to arrive at Red Planet on October 19
The European ExoMars mission is about to arrive at the Red Planet, dropping a lander on the surface and putting a spacecraft into orbit.
- Planetary Science
Lava may be flowing from Venus volcano
Lava flows might explain a hot spot seen in data from Venus Express spacecraft.
- Planetary Science
Comet 67P cracking under pressure
Cracks developing on comet 67P are signs of stress building in the neck of the comet that could lead to its two ends snapping apart.
- Genetics
‘Three-parent babies’ explained
Several in vitro techniques can produce babies with three biological parents.
- Particle Physics
KATRIN experiment readies for quest to find neutrino’s mass
The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino experiment, or KATRIN, has begun taking test data in its effort to measure the mass of neutrinos.
- Animals
Melatonin makes midshipman fish sing
Melatonin lets people sleep but starts male midshipman fish melodiously humming their hearts out.
- Oceans
Reef rehab could help threatened corals make a comeback
Reefs are under threat from rising ocean temperatures. Directed spawning, microfragmenting and selective breeding may help.
- Animals
Berries may give yellow woodpeckers a red dye job
A diet of invasive honeysuckle berries may be behind stray red feathers in woodpeckers called yellow-shafted flickers.
- Climate
Extreme lightning events set records
A lightning flash stretching 321 kilometers across and one that lasted 7.74 seconds have been named the most extreme events on record, thanks to a new rule change.
- Life
In a first, mouse eggs grown from skin cells
Stem cells grown in ovary-mimicking conditions in a lab dish can make healthy mouse offspring, but technique still needs work.
