All Stories
- Math
Sharks’ hunting paths may not be driven by math
Penguins, tuna, sharks and other marine hunters have been shown to use math to find food. But simulations suggest the behavior is a result of rough water, not complex calculation.
- Materials Science
Making metamaterials ‘digital’ could simplify invisibility cloaks
The digital world of 1s and 0s has inspired a simpler way to make complex metamaterials.
By Andrew Grant - Life
Artificial sweeteners may tip scales toward metabolic problems
The artificial sweetener saccharin meddles with the gut’s microbial community, setting in motion metabolic changes associated with obesity and diabetes.
- Anthropology
Strategy, not habitat loss, leads chimps to kill rivals
Human impacts on chimpanzees have not increased their violence.
By Bruce Bower - Animals
Mama deer respond to the cries of human babies
Deer mothers approached a speaker playing distress calls of young mammals when the frequency fell into the same range as fawns.
- Health & Medicine
Rounder waists show obesity continues to rise
The waistlines of U.S. adults continue to expand, running counter to a report that obesity, based on body mass index, did not increase substantially in the past decade.
- Health & Medicine
Sleep drunkenness might be common
A new survey shows that about 15 percent of people sometimes wake up disoriented and confused, a condition called sleep drunkenness.
- Psychology
Training the overweight brain to abstain
A new study shows that brain changes are associated with a weight-loss behavioral intervention, but it may be a while before we can train our brains to prefer peppers over pork chops.
- Astronomy
Tweak to dark matter may explain Milky Way mystery
Dark matter weakly interacting with light in the early universe might have prevented satellite galaxies from forming around Milky Way, astronomers propose.
- Quantum Physics
Three photons entangled, not just two
Physicists have found a way to entangle a trio of photons, but it works only once in every quadrillion attempts.
By Andrew Grant - Tech
Hydrogen made using sunlight, cheap materials
Photosynthesis-inspired fuel cell uses water to make hydrogen gas and could feature in next-generation cars.
By Sam Lemonick - Agriculture
Drug-resistant staph can cling to farm workers for days
Agricultural exposure to staph bacteria could threaten the health of laborers and people who live near farms, a study of pig farm workers suggests.
By Beth Mole