News

  1. Animals

    A fungus named after Sir David Attenborough zombifies cave spiders

    The new fungus species Gibellula attenboroughii forces reclusive cave spiders to exposed areas, likely to benefit spore dispersal.

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  2. Astronomy

    A fast radio burst from a dead galaxy puzzles astronomers

    A blast of radio waves from the outskirts of an ancient galaxy challenges theories about what creates such bursts.

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  3. Animals

    Cuttlefish ink may overwhelm sharks’ sense of smell

    The main component of common cuttlefish ink — melanin — strongly sticks to shark smell sensors, possibly explaining why the predators avoid ink.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    A second version of bird flu is infecting cows. What does that mean?

    While the risk to humans of exposure from cows or milk remains low, this new flu spillover from birds into cows raises the need for continued surveillance.

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  5. Animals

    How mantis shrimp deliver punishing blows without hurting themselves

    A mantis shrimp's punch creates high-energy waves. Its exoskeleton is designed to absorb that energy, preventing cracking and tissue damage.

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  6. Materials Science

    The best way to cook an egg — in 32 minutes

    It’s hard to cook both the white and the yolk of the egg to the right temperature. Scientists have found a new method, called periodic cooking.

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  7. Ecosystems

    Extinct moa ate purple trufflelike fungi, fossil bird droppings reveal

    DNA analysis reveals the big, flightless moa birds ate — and pooped out — 13 kinds of fungi, including ones crucial for New Zealand’s forest ecosystem.

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  8. Paleontology

    Earth’s first waterfowl may have lived in Antarctica 69 million years ago

    A few fossilized body parts hinted at an enigmatic bird's close ties to waterfowl like ducks and geese. A newfound skull may bolster that idea.

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  9. Science & Society

    Will the Endangered Species Act survive Trump?

    President Trump has already begun to introduce changes that weaken the Endangered Species Act, a cornerstone of U.S. conservation law.

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  10. Artificial Intelligence

    Are AI chatbot ‘personalities’ in the eye of the beholder?

    Defining AI chatbot personality could be based on how a bot “feels” about itself or on how a person feels about the bot they’re interacting with.

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  11. Quantum Physics

    Quantum mechanics was born 100 years ago. Physicists are celebrating

    Quantum physics underlies technologies from the laser to the smartphone. The International Year of Quantum marks a century of scientific developments.

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  12. Planetary Science

    The moon’s two grand canyons formed in less than 10 minutes

    Two gargantuan canyons on the moon were carved by a hailstorm of rocks — and that’s good news for future lunar astronauts.

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