All Stories
- Physics
A static electricity mystery comes to the surface
Seemingly random charging of identical materials depends on the carbonaceous molecules stuck to their surfaces
- Earth
To make a ‘Snowball Earth,’ sci-fi moves fast. Geology is far slower
The Day After Tomorrow, Snowpiercer, Snowball Earth: Such end-of-days visions of a frozen Earth are fantastical … but can contain a snowflake of truth.
- Animals
Sharks are ingesting drugs in the Bahamas
Nearly one third of sharks studied near the Bahamas’ Eleuthera Island were found to have caffeine, painkillers and other drugs in their bloodstreams.
- Animals
Platypus fur has a surprising feature seen only in bird feathers
Platypuses are the first mammals known to have hollow melanosomes, pigment-bearing structures found in the hair of many animals.
- Climate
City skylines influence cloud formation above them
Satellite data show that U.S. cities have more nighttime cloud cover than nearby countryside, and building height and density help explain why.
- Health & Medicine
Are pig organs the future of transplantation?
Each year, thousands of people in the U.S. die waiting for donated organs. A new book shares how organs from other species could change that.
- Health & Medicine
Smartwatch data can be used to assess early diabetes risk
When combined with clinical markers, smartwatch data was able to help detect insulin resistance with nearly 90 percent accuracy.
- Climate
Extreme heat is cutting the time people can safely be active outdoors
Heat and humidity now severely limit light physical activity for millions of people around the world, with older adults facing the greatest burden.
- Animals
Wild monkeys invaded Florida. Should people protect them?
A colony of African vervets in Dania Beach raises big questions about how humans can and should manage nonnative species.
- Neuroscience
Yaks may hint at a way to treat brain diseases like MS
A genetic mutation tied to keeping the brain healthy at high altitudes may point to a way to repair nerve damage, experiments in mice show.
- Health & Medicine
A newfound blood biomarker may one day predict longevity
Levels of six RNA molecules in the blood ID’d older adults likely to survive two more years. Whether it will work for other people is a big question.
- Climate
Why we fail to notice climate change
People quickly normalize extreme weather. Simple visuals highlighting abrupt change could help climate change break through our mental blind spots.
