All Stories
- Health & Medicine
Report offers stimulating recommendation on coffee
Results from a committee of experts give the blessing to moderate coffee intake. But as we all raise our mugs, the science behind the report is worth a closer look.
- Health & Medicine
Dose of extra oxygen revs up cancer-fighting immune cells
Extra oxygen helps immune cells shrink tumors in cancer-ridden mice.
- Humans
Ancient jaw may hold clues to origins of human genus
A 2.8-million-year-old fossil from Ethiopia raises questions about the origins and evolution of the human genus, Homo.
By Bruce Bower - Animals
Insects may undermine trees’ ability to store carbon
Insects eat more leaves on trees grown in carbon dioxide-rich environments than those grown without the extra CO2. That may undermine forests as carbon sinks in the future.
- Physics
Why lattes are less prone to spills than regular coffee
Foam dampens liquids’ sloshing, keeping keeps lattes and beer from spilling so easily, researchers find.
- Animals
How pigeons bob and weave through obstacles
When navigating an obstacle course, pigeons weigh energy efficiency against the danger of collision, research finds.
- Earth
Volcanic lightning forges tiny glass balls from airborne ash
The lightning that crackles through volcanic plumes can melt ash into tiny glass beads.
- Astronomy
Hundreds of galaxies seen in a new 3-D view of the universe
A new instrument lets astronomers measure the distances to hundreds of galaxies at once, looking back across the age of the universe.
- Neuroscience
Brain cells predict opponent’s move in game-playing monkeys
Newly discovered brain cells help monkeys predict whether a companion will cooperate.
- Health & Medicine
Despite risks, vaccine delay requests are common
A survey of pediatricians and family doctors finds parents frequently put off vaccines for babies even though doctors warn it can place the children at risk of illness.
By Nathan Seppa - Plants
Plant growth patterns changing on much of Earth’s surface
More than half of Earth’s land surface has seen major changes in factors such as leaf-on date and how much vegetation grows in a season.
- Plants
Tropical plant knows whose bill is in its flowers
A rainforest plant avoids inbreeding by accepting pollen only from hummingbird species that must travel to reach it.