News
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PsychologyMonkeys may share a key grammar-related skill with humans
A contested study suggests the ability to embed sequences within other sequences, a skill called recursion and crucial to grammar, has ancient roots.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & MedicineWhy scientists say wearing masks shouldn’t be controversial
New data suggest that cloth masks work to reduce coronavirus cases, though less well than medical masks.
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Health & MedicineStrokes and mental state changes hint at how COVID-19 harms the brain
In a group of people severely ill from the coronavirus, strokes, psychosis, depression and other brain-related changes come as complications.
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Health & MedicineThe second-worst Ebola outbreak ever is officially over
As Congo grapples with COVID-19 and other disease outbreaks, the country’s 10th battle against Ebola has ended.
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Health & MedicineMillions of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. may have gone undiagnosed in March
Millions of people in the United States went to the doctor in March with influenza-like symptoms. Many may have had COVID-19, a study suggests.
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AnimalsDolphins can learn from peers how to use shells as tools
While most foraging skills are picked up from mom, some bottlenose dolphins seem to look to their peers to learn how to trap prey in shells.
By Jack J. Lee -
EarthTwo lightning megaflashes shattered distance and duration records
Satellite data show that the two extreme bolts, both appearing over South America, more than doubled the previous records.
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SpaceColliding black holes may have created a surprising flare of light
A flare-up after a gravitational wave outburst may be the first sighting of light from colliding black holes.
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PaleontologyFossil discoveries suggest the earliest dinosaurs laid soft-shelled eggs
Finding soft-shelled dinosaur eggs in the fossil record for the first time has scientists rethinking how dinosaur eggs evolved.
By Jack J. Lee -
Particle PhysicsPhysicists spot a new class of neutrinos from the sun
Researchers with the Borexino experiment in Italy have detected neutrinos produced in the secondary fusion process taking place in the sun’s core.
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SpaceLIGO and Virgo detected a collision between a black hole and a mystery object
The first evidence of an object more massive than any neutron star and more lightweight than any black hole has astronomers wondering what it is.
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ClimateA Siberian town hit 100 degrees, setting a new record for the Arctic Circle
Verkhoyansk’s high temperature, which has yet to be confirmed, follows a six-month period of record heat in the region.