All Stories
- Animals
The Thing With Feathers
In the new book, "The Thing With Feathers," Noah Strycker brings people nose to beak with the plumed creatures he knows so well.
- Quantum Physics
U.S. marches to tick of new clock
The atomic clock NIST-F2 has launched as the country’s official civilian time and frequency standard.
- Planetary Science
Subsurface sea hides below ice of Saturn moon
Astronomers add to evidence for a subsurface ocean on Enceladus using subtle variations in the moon’s gravity.
- Neuroscience
Paralyzed mouse legs move with burst of light
Neural patch makes leg muscles twitch in paralyzed mice when blue light shines.
- Paleontology
Footprints of dino chase digitally reconstructed
Footprints of a T. rex-type dinosaur chasing an Apatosaurus-like animal have been turned into a 3-D fly-through, giving researchers a way to verify maps of the tracks drawn 70 years ago. (includes video)
- Animals
Pandas enjoy the sweet life
Unlike many of their carnivore relatives, bamboo-loving pandas can taste natural, and some artificial, sugars.
- Computing
A tale of touching tubes
Mathematicians solve the challenge of putting seven cylinders in contact without using their ends.
- Anthropology
Bronze Age herders spread farming around Asia
Ancient seeds indicate that Central Asian animal raisers had an unappreciated impact on early agriculture.
By Bruce Bower - Planetary Science
Moon gets younger age estimate
The moon may have formed about 95 million years after the birth of the solar system, up to 70 million years later than some scientists previously predicted.
- Neuroscience
Brain’s growth, networks unveiled in new maps
Two large-scale efforts describe human and mouse brains in detail.
- Neuroscience
Lost sleep could mean lost neurons
A new study shows we may not be able to make up for chronic sleep deprivation. The protein SirT3 might protect us against late nights, but all-nighters may produce neuron loss.
- Health & Medicine
Statins may improve erectile function
Although doctors had been concerned that statins were associated with erectile dysfunction, an analysis of 14 studies finds that the drugs may actually help erectile function.
By Nathan Seppa