All Stories
- Planetary Science
Salty source of Ceres’ mysterious bright spots found
Bright spots on Ceres contain salts from a possible subsurface layer of ice while ammonia-rich minerals hint at building blocks incorporated from the far outer solar system.
- Genetics
Liberia’s Ebola outbreak largely traced to one source
Ebola’s spread and evolution in Liberia echoes patterns seen in Sierra Leone.
- Health & Medicine
Iron helps growing bodies, but could too much do harm?
Iron fortification has been a public health victory in the fight against childhood anemia. But too much iron may be a cause for concern, scientists propose.
- Climate
Global carbon emissions fell in 2015, despite economic growth
Society’s carbon footprint fell slightly in 2015, largely due to decrease coal consumption in China, researchers report.
- Neuroscience
Busy eyes can make ears go temporarily deaf
When challenged with a tough visual task, people are less likely to perceive a tone, suggesting that perceptual overload can jump between senses.
- Neuroscience
Eyes hard at work can make ears go temporarily deaf
When challenged with a tough visual task, people are less likely to perceive a tone, suggesting that perceptual overload can jump between senses.
- Animals
Water bears’ genetic borrowing questioned
A new analysis of tardigrade DNA suggests that water bears don’t swap many genes with other organisms after all.
- Animals
For male peacock spiders, the best dancers get the girl
Male peacock spiders dance to attract the ladies. And those that perform the best get the girl, a new study finds.
- Planetary Science
Japanese spacecraft reaches Venus — five years late
The Japanese Space Agency’s Akatsuki spacecraft succeeded at a second attempt at orbiting Venus, five years after an engine failure prevented its intended mission.
- Animals
Gut bacteria’s compounds bring cockroaches together
German cockroaches may rely on gut bacteria to help attract fellow roaches.
- Animals
Gut bacteria compounds bring cockroaches together
Gut bacteria in young German cockroaches (Blattella germanica) produce fragrant compounds that, when excreted, attract other roaches.
- Paleontology
New dating of dino ancestor challenges Triassic timeline
New dates for geologic layers of well-known fossil formation show that dinosaurs and their ancient relatives were separated by less time than researchers thought.