News
- Life
How pandas use their heads as a kind of extra limb for climbing
Short legs on a stout bear body means pandas use a rare technique to climb up a tree.
By Susan Milius - Neuroscience
Psilocybin may help cancer patients with depression and anxiety for years
A study hints that a hallucinogen found in magic mushrooms could reshape how people cope with hard diagnoses over the long term.
- Archaeology
A Siberian cave contains clues about two epic Neandertal treks
Stone tools and DNA illuminate an earlier and a later journey eastward across Asia.
By Bruce Bower - Chemistry
How to brew a better espresso, according to science
To make more consistent and affordable espresso shots, use fewer beans and grind them more coarsely, a new study says.
- Paleontology
A squid fossil offers a rare record of pterosaur feeding behavior
150 million years ago, a pterosaur attempted to snatch a squid from the ocean surface and lost a tooth in the process.
- Health & Medicine
How the new coronavirus stacks up against SARS and MERS
Coronaviruses are a diverse family that may be becoming more threatening to people.
- Health & Medicine
Levels of certain proteins in the blood may act as concussion biomarkers
College athletes who suffered concussions had elevated blood levels of three proteins, a potential chemical sign that one day may aid diagnosis.
- Health & Medicine
No, snakes probably aren’t the source of that new coronavirus in China
Scientists are skeptical about a new study that pinpoints snakes as the animal reservoir for the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in China.
- Physics
A quantum strategy could verify the solutions to unsolvable problems — in theory
A quantum technique for verifying solutions to difficult problems could apply to an “unbelievably huge” class of puzzles.
- Health & Medicine
WHO says China’s coronavirus outbreak isn’t a global emergency yet
While the WHO says the coronavirus outbreak isn’t a global emergency, China has locked down several large cities to stop the virus from spreading.
- Archaeology
A 3-D printed vocal tract lets an ancient mummy speak from beyond the grave
A re-created version of a mummy’s vocal tract reveals what this ancient Egyptian might have sounded like.
- Life
Sparkly exoskeletons may help camouflage beetles from predators
Iridescence, normally thought to help insects stand out, can also camouflage beetles from predators, according to new experimental evidence.