All Stories
- Physics
Negative mass might not defy Einstein
Repulsive matter could have played a role in the early universe, a computational study finds.
- Genetics
Genes linked to feather development predate dinosaurs
The genes for feather development may have existed more than 100 million years before dinosaurs sported hints of the fluffy plumage.
- Science & Society
The medieval mentality of modern science
Today’s scientists grapple with many of the same issues that stumped their medieval predecessors.
- Animals
Fully formed froglets emerge from dry bamboo nurseries
In remote India, a rare frog mates and lays eggs inside bamboo stalks. The eggs hatch into froglets, forgoing the tadpole stage.
- Earth
‘Mass Extinction’ vivifies the science of die-offs
The dinosaurs were killed off some 65 million years ago after a colossal asteroid struck Earth. But what many people probably don’t know is how paleontologists came to that conclusion. "Mass Extinction: Life at the Brink" tells that story.
- Animals
Scientists’ tags on fish may be leading seals to lunch
In an experiment, 10 young grey seals learned to associate the sound of a pinging tag with fish. The tags may make fish vulnerable to predators, scientists say.
- Chemistry
Radioactive fuel turns to goo during nuclear meltdown
Experiments reveal the atomic rearrangements that occur within uranium dioxide when nuclear reactors fail.
- Archaeology
Barley elevated Central Asian farmers to ‘the roof of the world’
Hardy western crops allowed villagers to settle in the cold, thin air atop the Tibetan Plateau.
- Cosmology
Galaxies may be aligned across 1 billion light-years
Powerful plasma jets from cores of galaxies seem to mysteriously align with one another and hint at an unknown mechanism shaping galaxy groups.
- Neuroscience
After injury, estrogen may shield the brain
Estrogen helps to prevent some of the chronic inflammation that occurs after brain injury.
- Planetary Science
Setting sights on Mars — a half-century ago
Fifty years ago, the United States turned its eyes toward Mars and set a goal of sending humans as soon as possible.
- Health & Medicine
The kids will be all right
Children are generally as resilient as adults when it comes to acute trauma, and studies suggest that a little stress and exercise might help kids cope with disasters.
