News
- Paleontology
Colorful moth wings date back to the dinosaur era
Microscopic structures that scatter light to give color to the wings of modern butterflies and moths date back almost 200 million years.
- Anthropology
Finger fossil puts people in Arabia at least 86,000 years ago
A desert discovery suggests that Arabia was an ancient human destination.
- Particle Physics
The search for mysterious dark matter underdogs steps up
Dark matter particles called axions are finally being put to the test.
- Environment
Microplastics may enter freshwater and soil via compost
Compost is pinpointed as a source of plastic pollution, but environmental fate and effects unknown.
- Neuroscience
Human brains make new nerve cells — and lots of them — well into old age
In humans, new neurons are still born in old brains, new research suggests.
- Earth
Efforts to contain Mississippi floods may have made them worse
Intensive management of the Mississippi River has increased the size of its largest floods, suggests a new study.
- Astronomy
A dozen new black holes found in Milky Way’s center
Twelve small black holes spotted in the Milky Way’s center suggest thousands more in the galaxy’s inner region.
- Climate
Seafloor map shows why Greenland’s glaciers melt at different rates
A new high-res look at the seafloor shows how ledges and dips affects whether relatively warm ocean water reaches the ice.
- Genetics
Birds get their internal compass from this newly ID’d eye protein
Birds can sense magnetic fields, thanks to internal compasses that likely rely on changes to proteins in the retina.
- Anthropology
Ardi walked the walk 4.4 million years ago
Ancient hominid evolved upright stance without sacrificing climbing ability.
- Animals
How honeybees’ royal jelly might be baby glue, too
A last-minute pH shift thickens royal jelly enough to stick queen larvae to the ceiling of hive cells.
- Health & Medicine
The science behind cancer warnings on coffee is murky at best
The risks of acrylamide in coffee are not as clear as a California court ruling may suggest.
