All Stories
- Animals
Rhinoceros beetle’s horn shape reflects fighting style
The elaborate horns of rhinoceros beetles vary in subtle ways that allow each species to handle the stress and strain of its specific style of battle.
- Planetary Science
Spot on comet chosen for Rosetta mission lander
Philae, the Rosetta mission lander, will attempt to land on a spot called site J on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
- Planetary Science
Moon’s farside hints at violent volcanic explosions
The spread of the element thorium in the moon's Compton-Belkovich region suggests that silica volcanoes there once had violent explosions.
- Psychology
In PTSD, a good night’s sleep means feeling safe
Studies of PTSD in rats have usually focused on fear and trauma. But a new study in humans shows that learning about safety may be important as well.
- Astronomy
Mystery of missing lithium extends beyond Milky Way
Stars in cluster Messier 54, part of a nearby dwarf galaxy, have just as little lithium as stars in the Milky Way, suggesting that the mystery of the missing element is universal.
- Quantum Physics
Artificial atom probes sound’s quantum side
Scientists have designed an artificial atom to emit sound that is divided into quantum particles.
- Psychology
People see own good but gossip about others’ misdeeds
Daily cellphone surveys probe the gap between the focus on personal virtue and negative chatter.
- Life
Vagina bacteria make molecules that could be drugs
Microbes on the human body are capable of producing thousands of small molecules that hold potential as drugs.
- Microbes
Vaccines and gut microbes join forces to fight flu
Losing gut microbes weakens the protective ability of the flu vaccine in mice.
- Neuroscience
Our brains sort words as we sleep
Even after nodding off, a person’s brain correctly sorts words into categories, adding to the achievements of the sleeping brain.
- Earth
Warming alone triggered Antarctic ice shelf collapse
Warming surface temperatures, not an unstable foundation, probably doomed Antarctica’s Larsen B ice shelf.
- Health & Medicine
Experimental herpes drug outperforms first-line med
An experimental treatment for genital herpes suppresses the viral infection better than the standard drug, but animal tests raise concerns about side effects.
