All Stories

  1. Animals

    Ocean animals have bulked up since ancient eras

    Marine animals today are much larger on average than they were in the Cambrian Period.

    By Kate Baggaley
  2. Ecosystems

    Bluebird moms inadvertently fuel wars between species

    Extra hormones delivered to eggs holding sons in tough times end up driving one bluebird species to chase off another

    By Susan Milius
  3. Planetary Science

    New Horizons spies two of Pluto’s moons

    Nix and Hydra come into view on the 85th anniversary of Pluto’s discovery.

    By Christopher Crockett
  4. Cosmology

    The past according to Planck: Cosmologists got a lot right

    New results from the Planck satellite largely support cosmologists’ theories, but leave the door open for new discoveries.

    By Andrew Grant
  5. Health & Medicine

    New HPV shot fends off more types of the virus

    A new vaccine that covers more strains of the human papillomavirus protects better against cervical and other cancers.

    By Nathan Seppa
  6. Anthropology

    Fossil teeth flesh out ancient kids’ varied growth rates

    X-ray technique sheds light on hominids’ developmental variety.

    By Bruce Bower
  7. Planetary Science

    Dwarf planet Ceres comes into view

    New images from the Dawn spacecraft reveal a landscape of craters and mysterious bright patches on the dwarf planet Ceres.

    By Christopher Crockett
  8. Animals

    Cliff swallow breeding thwarted by bird version of bedbugs

    A 30-year study of cliff swallows in Nebraska finds that the birds will abandon nests, rather than have a second brood, when their homes are infested with swallow bugs.

    By Sarah Zielinski
  9. Genetics

    Catalog of DNA modifications produces surprises

    A map of chemical modifications of DNA and its associated proteins shows how the genome changes during development and disease.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  10. Neuroscience

    Blame pot munchies on nerve cells that normally nix appetite

    Pot munchies demystified: Marijuana hijacks fullness nerve cells, making them send hunger signals instead.

    By Kate Baggaley
  11. Astronomy

    Pair of stars buzzed the solar system 70,000 years ago

    Astronomers discover a binary system that made the closest known flyby of the sun.

    By Christopher Crockett
  12. Astronomy

    Closest star approach to the sun

    Astronomers discover a binary system that made the closest known flyby of the sun.

    By Christopher Crockett