All Stories
- Life
Rivalry helps fruit flies maintain brainpower
In lab tests, males dim mentally after generations without competitors.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
Five California children have polio-like symptoms
At least five, and possibly as many as 25, children in California have experienced poliolike symptoms, including paralysis of limbs and breathing problems, since 2012. Scientists are not yet sure what is causing the emerging disease.
- Physics
Quantum droplet discovered
Electrons and holes gather to form a tiny, liquidlike particle.
By Andrew Grant - Astronomy
Kepler data confirm 715 new exoplanets
The population of planets outside the solar system has grown by about 70 percent, thanks to discoveries culled from Kepler space telescope data. Researchers are announcing 715 new confirmed planets in a February 26 press conference.
- Animals
The mystery of the missing fish heads
When scientists opened up the stomachs of shortfin mako sharks, they found that nearly all of the digesting fish had no heads or tails.
- Health & Medicine
Rabbit heart gets full electrode jacket
A silicon jacket makes it possible for scientists to place sensors on specific areas of the heart without glue or stitches and could one day be used for diagnosing and treating human heart diseases.
- Climate
Extreme heat on the rise
Recent years saw an increase in peak high temperatures on land despite Earth’s stalled averages.
By Beth Mole - Anthropology
Cancer proposed as spur for evolution of dark-skinned ancestors
Fatal ailments might have sparked DNA changes that yielded dark skin in human ancestors.
By Bruce Bower - Astronomy
China’s lunar rover alive, but still crippled
Mechanical issues are preventing the Yutu lunar rover from exploring the moon's surface as designed.
- Environment
Handling receipts increases exposure to BPA
People who handle cash register receipts printed on thermal paper show notable exposure to bisphenol A.
- Animals
Methylation turns a wannabe bumblebee into a queen
Epigenetic changes to bumblebee DNA turns a worker into a reproductive pseudo-queen, suggesting that genomic imprinting could be responsible for the bumblebee social system.
- Health & Medicine
Beating addiction: impossible or surprisingly common?
Addiction may be a dysfunctional if temporary coping strategy, clouds may not reduce global warming and other stories from the March 22 issue.
By Eva Emerson