All Stories
- Paleontology
Fossil of monstrous fish-eating amphibian unearthed
A new Triassic species of giant amphibian lived like a crocodile instead of like its cute little salamander and frog relatives of today.
- Planetary Science
Potentially life-friendly nitrogen compounds found on Mars
“Fixed” nitrogen has been found in Mars deposits, raising the possibility that ancient life could have used it to build biomolecules.
- Planetary Science
Earth, neighbors weren’t the first rocky planets in the solar system
Jupiter might have swept an earlier generation of rocky planets into the sun, leaving room for Earth and its neighbors to form.
- Archaeology
Telling stories from stone tools
Existing stone tool categories may hide more than they reveal. New methods for analyzing stone artifacts aim to better reconstruct how hominids interacted and moved across Africa, Asia and Europe.
- Animals
Piggyback rides and other crocodile fun
We don’t know the playful side of crocodiles perhaps only because we haven’t looked.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum links provide clues to causation
Quantum entanglement enables physicists to determine cause and effect just by tracking the association between two measurements.
- Tech
‘Rust’ chronicles humankind’s incessant battle with corrosion
‘Rust’ recounts humanity’s unending battle against corrosion, which each year costs the United States an estimated $437 billion — more than all natural disasters combined.
- Anthropology
‘The Invaders’ sees dogs as key to modern humans’ success
Neandertals went extinct when Homo sapiens transformed wolves into hunting aids, author proposes.
- Climate
Rain slows whipping hurricane winds
Taking raindrop drag into account — which may slow hurricane winds by as much as 30 percent — could help improve hurricane forecasts.
- Climate
Winter storms 24 times as deadly as estimated
By ignoring car and plane crashes related to bad weather, U.S. tallies of winter storm deadliness severely underestimate hazard.
- Astronomy
Solo planets may be surprisingly common
Rogue planets may form as stars do, but on a smaller scale, or they may go forced out of orbit during planetary ping-pong. Researchers are scanning the skies for them.
- Animals
Conservationists should make friends with hunters
A survey of outdoor enthusiasts in rural New York finds that both hunters and birdwatchers are likely to engage in conservation behaviors, such as donating money.
