All Stories
- Health & Medicine
Daylight saving time linked to heart attacks
Hospital admissions for heart attacks increases after daylight savings time starts, a study suggests.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
This rare skull-thickening disease led to a 3-D-printed replacement
A skull implant made with a 3-D printer replaced the 2-inch-thick skull of a Dutch woman with the rare van Buchem disease.
- Tech
Mindless: Why Smarter Machines are Making Dumber Humans
Simon Head argues that computer business systems leave middle managers and workers with little creative latitude. They acquire fewer skills and their wages stagnate, hurting their job quality and buying power.
By Nathan Seppa - Materials Science
Oyster shells could inspire improved armor
Making tiny indentations in windowpane oyster shells has revealed some processes that could inspire better armor.
- Neuroscience
Ha! The Science of When We Laugh and Why
Scott Weems, a neuroscientist, takes readers on a wide-ranging tour that explains what humor is and why readers should care.
By Sid Perkins - Animals
As their homes warm, salamanders shrink
Many species of salamanders respond to climate change by getting smaller.
- Health & Medicine
Bile acids may play lead role in weight-loss surgery
Having more gastric juices swirling around a smaller space and a change in the gut microbiome may be what helps with weight loss after stomach-shrinking surgery.
- Astronomy
This winter warrior made the gravitational waves discovery possible
Engineer Steffen Richter played an important role in the recent gravitational waves discovery, wintering at the Amundsen-Scott research station at the South Pole and making daily treks to keep the BICEP2 telescope running.
By Andrew Grant - Health & Medicine
Autism spike may reflect better diagnoses, and that’s a good thing
As doctors get better at spotting autism spectrum disorders, kids may get help earlier — and the numbers of diagnoses will increase.
- Materials Science
Light filter lets rays through from only one direction
Angle-sensitive light filter could improve photography, telescopes and solar energy harvesting.
By Andrew Grant - Animals
Giant pandas like sweets, but prefer the natural ones
Despite sustaining themselves on bamboo, which isn't very sweet, giant pandas will indulge in a bit of sugar, if they can.
- Animals
Bats’ dinner conversation may go over your head
Hunting big brown bats do more than echolocate. When male bats compete for a single prize, they send social calls to keep other bats at bay.