All Stories
- Climate
How species will, or won’t, manage in a warming world
Fast evolution and flexibility, in biology and behavior, may allow some species to adapt to a warming world. Others may need help from humans, or risk dying out.
- Cosmology
Lab version of early universe fails to solve lithium problem
An experiment that imitated conditions from just after the Big Bang failed to explain why observed amounts of lithium don’t match those expected from theory.
- Life
Microscapes take off at D.C’s Dulles airport
“Life: Magnified,” a display of microscope images depicting cells, microbes and details of life invisible to the naked eye runs from June to November.
- Environment
Decline in birds linked to common insecticide
In addition to harming bee populations, neonicotinoid insecticides may also be detrimental to bug-eating birds.
- Health & Medicine
HIV returns in girl once considered cured of the infection
An infant girl, once thought to be cured of HIV, now has detectable levels of the virus.
- Life
Ocean microbes orchestrate gene activity
The bacteria’s daily cycles aren’t just for photosynthesis, a new study suggests.
- Life
Fiber optics in mammals’ eyes separate colors
Specialized cells in the retina separate different wavelengths of light to enable sharp vision during the day without harming night vision.
- Tech
1960s research paid off in automotive safety
Scientists in 1964 were studying shatterproof glass, which was mandated just a couple of years later.
- Health & Medicine
Babies are kinder after you dance with them
Babies who grooved in sync with an adult were more likely to be little helpers later.
- Health & Medicine
Two genes clear up psoriasis and eczema confusion
Psoriasis and eczema are often mistaken for each other, leading to mistreatment. Testing just two genes could eliminate this confusion.
- Life
Gecko adhesion takes electric turn
Challenging a favored theory, measurements suggest that electrostatic interactions make gecko feet supersticky.
- Health & Medicine
Yet another reason to hate ticks
Ticks are tiny disease-carrying parasites that should also be classified as venomous animals, a new study argues.
