All Stories
- Plants
Beetle RNA makes crops a noxious meal
When beetles munch plants bearing their RNA, genes the bugs need to survive are turned off.
- Life
Sexual conflict in mosquitoes may have worsened spread of malaria
Sexual conflict in Anopheles mosquitoes may have intensified their power to fuel human malaria.
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- Anthropology
Wheat reached England before farming
European hunter-gatherers may have traded for agricultural products 8,000 years ago.
- Neuroscience
Bees may merge their flower memories
Bumblebees sometimes prefer fake flowers with the combined patterns and colors of ones seen before, suggesting they merge memories of past experiences.
- Life
Chili peppers’ pain-relieving secrets uncovered
Scientists discover how stuff that makes chili peppers hot relieves pain.
- Animals
Some cicadas drum up a beat with the help of their wings
By using their wings as drumsticks, so-called “mute” cicadas can make themselves heard.
- Computing
Artificial intelligence conquers Space Invaders, Pong, Q*bert
With a single algorithm, a computer can learn dozens of classic video games, researchers from Google DeepMind in London report.
- Astronomy
Monster black hole lurks in the early universe
A black hole weighing the same as 12 billion suns is the most massive one known in the early universe.
- Climate
Scientists confirm amassing CO2 heats Earth’s surface
Rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide increase the amount of thermal radiation striking Earth’s surface.
- Quantum Physics
Physicists double their teleportation power
In a teleportation first, physicists transfer two quantum properties from one photon to another.
- Health & Medicine
Additives that keep foods fresh may sour in the gut
Additives called emulsifiers that are used in ice cream and other foods weaken the intestines’ defenses against bacteria, causing inflammation in mice.
