All Stories

  1. Health & Medicine

    Daylight saving time linked to heart attacks

    Hospital admissions for heart attacks increases after daylight savings time starts, a study suggests.

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  2. 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.

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  3. 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.

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  4. Materials Science

    Oyster shells could inspire improved armor

    Making tiny indentations in windowpane oyster shells has revealed some processes that could inspire better armor.

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  5. 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.

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  6. Animals

    As their homes warm, salamanders shrink

    Many species of salamanders respond to climate change by getting smaller.

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  7. 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.

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  8. 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.

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  9. 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.

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  10. Materials Science

    Light filter lets rays through from only one direction

    Angle-sensitive light filter could improve photography, telescopes and solar energy harvesting.

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  11. 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.

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  12. 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.

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