All Stories

  1. Genetics

    Domestication did horses no genetic favors

    Horses bear the cost of domestication in the form of harmful genetic variants, a study of equine DNA finds.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  2. Planetary Science

    Year in review: Tectonics active on Europa

    Jupiter’s frozen moon Europa has a shifting exterior analogous to Earth’s plate tectonics.

    By Thomas Sumner
  3. Earth

    Year in review: Life thrives under Antarctica

    Thousands of microbe species thrive in Lake Whillans deep beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet.

    By Thomas Sumner
  4. Anthropology

    Year in review: Asian cave art got an early start

    Stone Age cave painting began at about the same time in Southeast Asia as in Europe, challenging the idea that Western Europeans cornered the market on creativity 40,000 years ago.

    By Bruce Bower
  5. Animals

    The dinosaurs in the backyard

    Chickens are some of the closest relatives of dinosaurs, and though genetic tinkering the birds might even one day be turned into tiny dinos.

    By Sarah Zielinski
  6. Genetics

    Year in review: Genes linked to tameness

    A look at the genes of domesticated animals offers possible insights into why taming has altered animals’ appearances.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  7. Animals

    Year in review: Insect, bird evolution revisited

    Insects got an entirely new family tree after an extensive genetic analysis rearranged the creatures' relations.

    By Susan Milius
  8. Genetics

    Year in review: Easy stem cells a no go

    An incredibly easy method for making stem cells turned out to be impossible, again tainting the stem cell research field with controversy.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  9. Life

    Images reveal secrets of zinc sparks

    These sparks are created when billions of zinc atoms shoot from thousands of small pouches nestled just beneath the surface of a mouse egg cell.

    By Ashley Yeager
  10. Planetary Science

    Solar wind probably leaches Mars’ lower atmosphere

    Initial results from NASA's MAVEN probe may help explain how Mars has lost its atmosphere: The solar wind penetrates the Red Planet’s atmosphere and fuels escaping gas.

    By Thomas Sumner
  11. Life

    Source of sperm and egg’s zinc sparks identified

    Detailed imaging reveals the origin of zinc sparks that fly when egg meets sperm in mammals.

    By Ashley Yeager
  12. Neuroscience

    Year in review: The nose knows a trillion odors

    Humans can suss out more than 1 trillion different smells, a 2014 study estimated.

    By Bruce Bower