All Stories
- Animals
No eyes, no problem for color-sensing coral larvae
Switching colors of underwater light can switch preferences for where staghorn corals choose their forever homes.
By Susan Milius - Particle Physics
Top 10 subatomic surprises
Nobel Prize–winning neutrinos rank among science’s most unexpected discoveries.
- Particle Physics
Neutrinos’ identity shift snares physics Nobel
Arthur McDonald and Takaaki Kajita shared the 2015 Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery that neutrinos oscillate between different types, which demonstrates that the particles have mass.
By Andrew Grant and Thomas Sumner - Science & Society
Neurological condition probably caused medieval scribe’s shaky handwriting
By scrutinizing a medieval scribe’s wiggly handwriting, scientists conclude that the writer suffered from essential tremor.
- Astronomy
Using general relativity to magnify the cosmos
Astronomers have Einstein to thank for the tools that bring far-away galaxies and maybe even black hole collisions into view.
- Humans
Chimpanzees show surprising flexibility on two feet
Chimpanzees’ upper-body flexibility while walking upright suggests ancient hominids walked effectively.
By Bruce Bower - Particle Physics
Discovery of neutrino mass earns 2015 physics Nobel
The discovery that subatomic particles called neutrinos have mass has won Takaaki Kajita of the University of Tokyo and Arthur McDonald of Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, the 2015 Nobel Prize in physics.
By Andrew Grant - Science & Society
For the real hits of fashion week, look to computer science
A machine learning algorithm that analyzes trends on the runway and those on the street could help designers and manufacturers better understand what fashion trends take off.
- Animals
What really changes when a male vole settles down
Bachelor prairie voles can’t tell one female from another, but saying “I do” means more than just settling down.
By Susan Milius - Plants
Raindrops help pitcher plants trap dinner
Pitcher plants use the force of falling raindrops to fling prey into their traps.
- Health & Medicine
Nobel medicine prize won for drugs from natural sources
Nobel Prizes in medicine or physiology awarded for drugs that combat roundworms and malaria
By Tina Hesman Saey and Laura Sanders - Plants
Stinky seeds dupe dung beetles
Seeds that look and smell like animal poop can trick dung beetles into spreading and burying the seeds.