News
- Anthropology
Risky skull surgery done for ritual reasons 6,000 years ago
Some ancient skull surgeries hinged on ritual, not on medical treatment.
By Bruce Bower - Particle Physics
Theorists perplexed by hints of unexpected new particle
Hints of a potential new particle at the LHC have scientists excited, and theoretical physicists are beginning to converge on explanations.
- Animals
Dragons sleep like mammals and birds
Some lizards may sleep in the same way as mammals and birds, a new brain wave study finds.
- Neuroscience
Ions may be in charge of when you sleep and wake
The recipe for sleep and wake may depend on ions.
- Neuroscience
Words’ meanings mapped in the brain
Language isn’t just confined to one region of the brain: The meaning of words spark activity all over the cerebral cortex.
By Meghan Rosen - Astronomy
Gas blasts from black holes show surprising alignment
Unexpected alignment of galactic gas geysers might offer new insight into how galaxies and black holes arise from the cosmic web.
- Humans
Gelada monkeys know their linguistic math
The vocalizations of gelada monkeys observe a mathematical principle seen in human language, a new study concludes.
- Life
Gene found that controls beak size in Darwin’s finches
A beak-size gene helped determine whether Darwin’s finches survived a drought.
- Paleontology
Clearer picture emerging of dinosaurs’ last days
Dinosaurs’ final days may have included both a giant asteroid and gradual species die outs. Two new studies paint an increasingly intricate picture of dinosaur’s demise.
By Meghan Rosen - Neuroscience
Left brain stands guard while sleeping away from home
Part of the left hemisphere stands sentry while the rest of the brain and body snooze.
- Health & Medicine
‘Dirty’ mice better than lab-raised mice for studying human disease
Dirtier mice may better mimic human immune reactions.
- Cosmology
How to make gravitational waves ‘sing’
A rapidly spinning black hole would make a unique pattern of gravitational waves when it sucks in a smaller companion.