All Stories
- Astronomy
Mysterious cosmic signals carry a clue to their origins
A burst of radio waves from another galaxy ran into a dense magnetized plasma while en route to Earth, hinting at an origin near a population of young stars.
- Genetics
Gene drives spread their wings
Gene drives may wipe out malaria and take down invasive species. But they may be difficult to control.
- Plants
Pretty flower uses dead arthropods to lure protectors
A sticky columbine from California lures arthropods to their death to lure protectors to the plant, a new study suggests.
- Paleontology
Long-necked monsters roamed more than Scotland’s lochs
The discovery of sauropod footprints in Scotland suggest the dinosaurs lived in lagoons.
By Meghan Rosen - Genetics
Can DNA predict a face?
DNA-based facial sketches are moving into the crime-solving arena. With current science, predictions of some features are better than others.
By Meghan Rosen - Health & Medicine
Taking antiviral drug ‘on demand’ can guard against HIV
The antiviral drug Truvada taken before and after sex cuts HIV transmission rates.
By Meghan Rosen - Health & Medicine
Taking antiviral drug ‘on demand’ guards against HIV
The antiviral drug Truvada taken before and after sex cuts HIV transmission rates.
By Meghan Rosen - Physics
Maxwell’s demon faces the heat
A device inspired by an 1867 thought experiment fails to break the second law of thermodynamics, which governs the flow of heat and the drive toward maximum disorder.
By Andrew Grant - Animals
Inside the roaring sex lives of howler monkeys
Listening to the intense roars of howler monkeys in Mexico inspired scientists to decipher how and why calls differ among species.
- Astronomy
Super-Earths, meet superpuffs, a lighter weight class of planet
Superpuffs are underweight, oversized planets that formed in outskirts of star systems before cuddling up close to their sun.
- Anthropology
People roamed tip of South America 18,500 years ago
Stone tools, charred animal bones and fire ash found at the Monte Verde site in Chile indicate people reached South America’s southernmost territory at least 18,500 years ago.
By Bruce Bower - Archaeology
Search for fossils from the comfort of home
The citizen science website FossilFinder.org lets anyone with an Internet connection look for fossils and characterize rocks at Kenya’s Lake Turkana Basin
By Erin Wayman