All Stories
- Animals
When sweet little bees go to war
Tiny Tetragonula bees don’t sting but have strong jaws. The bees fight by biting a combatant and not letting go.
- Neuroscience
Magnets in helmets might make football safer
The repulsive force of magnets in football helmets could slow the impact of collisions, reducing concussion danger and making the game safer.
- Astronomy
Good night, Philae
The Philae lander has depleted its batteries and gone into idle mode, probably drawing to a close the surface-based study of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
- Planetary Science
Two travelers from far beyond Neptune return home
Two bodies approaching from the edge of the solar system may have been tossed out there by Jupiter over 4 billion years ago.
- Environment
Colorado deluge produced flood of drug-resistance genes
Flooding in Colorado’s South Platte River Basin washed antibiotics and drug-resistance genes into pristine waterways.
- Archaeology
Feedback
Readers ask questions about a study on sweeteners, how scientists recognize primitive tools and the purpose of a dinosaur's sail.
- Astronomy
A still mysterious solar system
Whether or not a Planet X exists, the puzzle, like a good mystery, delights the mind. But better than any novel, the puzzle’s solution has the potential to reveal something new and unexpected about our solar system.
- Planetary Science
A distant planet may lurk far beyond Neptune
Strange orbits in the Kuiper belt revive talk of a Planet X in the solar system.
- Psychology
Rigors of Mars trip make teamwork a priority
It’s going to take a different kind of mental approach to travel to Mars and back: less individuality, more collaboration and adaptability. Astronauts are being tested to prepare for such a mission.
- Environment
Spiders enlisted as pollution sensors for rivers
Hunting arachnids provide a better picture of chemical threats to food web.
- Animals
Ant colonies prefer homes infected with fungus
Choosing a new nest site ridden with a potentially deadly fungus may be a way for pharaoh ants to immunize themselves against the pathogen, scientists say.
- Life
Semen seems to counteract microbicides that kill HIV
Semen seems to inhibit most microbicides from killing HIV, but one that targets a receptor on cells remains effective, suggesting a promising approach against HIV.
