News
- Genetics
Genes might explain why dogs can’t sniff out some people under stress
Genes and stress may change a person’s body odor, confusing police dogs.
- Health & Medicine
Treating mosquitoes may be a new way to fight malaria
A lab test suggests it may be possible to treat mosquitoes infected with the malaria parasite to stop disease transmission.
- Astronomy
3 explanations for ‘Oumuamua that aren’t alien spaceships
Astronomers are coming up with some creative ideas to explain the weird behavior of the first known interstellar object.
- Genetics
A long handshake can spread your DNA to objects you didn’t touch
Two new studies show that even brief contact with another person or object could transfer your DNA far and wide.
- Animals
Hermit crabs are drawn to the smell of their own dead
A new study finds that the smell of hermit crab flesh attracts other hermit crabs of the same species desperately looking for a larger shell.
By Yao-Hua Law - Health & Medicine
The FDA says don’t buy young plasma therapies. Here’s why
Infusions of plasma from young people may hold the secret of youth, but there’s not much evidence to support the idea yet.
- Planetary Science
Hayabusa2 just tried to collect asteroid dust for the first time
The Japanese Hayabusa2 spacecraft touched down on asteroid Ryugu and attempted to gather a sample of its rock to bring back to Earth.
- Astronomy
Colliding neutron stars shot a light-speed jet through space
A stream of particles created in a neutron star crash, detected in 2017 using gravitational waves, could explain certain mysterious flashes of light.
- Anthropology
African hominid fossils show ancient steps toward a two-legged stride
New Ardipithecus ramidus fossils reveal how hominids were shifting toward humanlike walking more than 4 million years ago.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
A ban on artificial trans fats in NYC restaurants appears to be working
New Yorkers’ levels of artificial trans fats dropped, especially in people who ate out the most, after a citywide ban on the fats in restaurant foods.
- Animals
The world’s largest bee has been rediscovered after 38 years
Researchers rediscovered the world’s largest bee living in the forests of an island of Indonesia.
By Jeremy Rehm - Climate
Dueling dates for a huge eruption reignite the debate over dinosaurs’ death
New dating techniques for the Deccan Traps volcanic eruptions disagree on whether they were the main culprit in the dinosaurs’ demise.