All Stories
- Plants
Tricky pitcher plants lure ants into a false sense of security
Carnivorous pitcher plants exploit social lives of ants as scouts escape and inadvertently lead nest mates to death trap.
- Neuroscience
Protectors of our nervous system play a role in pain
PET and MRI brain scans show that the cells that protect our central nervous system also play a role in chronic pain.
- Animals
Squids edit genetic directions extensively
In squids, RNA editing means that DNA often does not get the final say in which proteins are created.
- Science & Society
12 reasons research goes wrong
Barriers to research replication are based largely in a scientific culture that pits researchers against each other in competition for scarce resources. Here are a few that skew results.
- Science & Society
Is redoing scientific research the best way to find truth?
Researchers don’t even agree on whether it is necessary to duplicate studies exactly or to validate the underlying principles.
- Animals
Paternity test reveals father’s role in mystery shark birth
A shark pup was born in a tank with three female sharks but no males. A genetic study finds that the shark must have stored sperm for nearly four years.
- Health & Medicine
Asthma may add to sleep apnea risk
A long-term sleep study strengthens the link between the two breathing disorders asthma and sleep apnea.
- Health & Medicine
More oxygen may lead to more tumors
Lung cancer risk drops at higher elevations where the air is thinner.
- Animals
Amazonian bird may act the part of its hairy caterpillar disguise
A rare view of a baby cinereous mourner feeds debate over whether the bird both looks and acts the part of a toxic hairy caterpillar as defense against predators.
- Materials Science
Graphene’s allure becomes magnetic
Single-atom-thick sheets of carbon called graphene can be magnetized with the help of an insulating magnet.
- Astronomy
Large rocky planets excel at ocean building
Rocky planets a few times as massive as Earth may build deeper oceans – and sustain them for longer – than smaller worlds.
- Neuroscience
Soft brain implant helps paralyzed rats walk again
Scientists have made a soft, flexible electrical implant that mimics the elasticity of the brain and spine's protective tissue.
