All Stories
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Neuroscience
Ten thousand neurons linked to behaviors in fly
By studying the wiggles of 37,780 fly larvae, scientists link specific neurons to 29 distinct behaviors.
- Humans
Childhood program improves health 30 years later
A preschool intervention for kids from poor families benefits their health as adults, especially among men.
- Life
First chromosome made synthetically from yeast
Work with yeast marks the first time scientists have synthesized a chromosome from organisms with complex cells and represents a major step toward lab-created eukaryotic life.
