News

  1. Paleontology

    Vampire microbes sucked some ancient life dry

    Hole-ridden fossils suggest that vampirelike microbes were among the first predators that targeted eukaryotes.

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  2. Planetary Science

    Pluto’s smaller moons pose mysteries

    The four smaller moons of Pluto are finally revealed in images from New Horizons, and might hold some clues to the dwarf planet’s past.

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  3. Tech

    Electronic skin feels the heat, hears the sound

    Electronic skin inspired by human fingertips detects texture, pressure, heat and sound.

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  4. Oceans

    Rising temperatures complicate efforts to manage cod fishery

    Higher water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine could play a role in Atlantic cod crashes.

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  5. Anthropology

    Petite primate fossil could upend ideas about ape evolution

    Ancient fossils suggest modern apes descended from a small, gibbonlike creature.

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  6. Neuroscience

    Itch-busting nerve cells could block urge to scratch

    A group of nerve cells in the spinal cord keep mechanical itch in check.

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  7. Planetary Science

    Oxygen leaking from comet surprises astronomers

    The Rosetta spacecraft detected oxygen molecules coming out of comet 67P that might have been buried since the formation of the solar system.

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  8. Life

    Rare reptile holds clue to penis evolution

    Preserved Victorian specimens reveal budding embryonic penis that disappears before adulthood.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Daily drug shown effective in preventing HIV infections

    After a history of controversy, preexposure prophylaxis has been demonstrated to work for HIV prevention.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Eating meat officially raises cancer risk

    Eating processed meats like bacon, ham and sausage causes cancer, says the World Health Organization.

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  11. Quantum Physics

    Light mimics hotel with limitless vacancies

    By mimicking a mathematician’s method for creating vacancies in a hotel with an infinite number of rooms, physicists may have found a way of increasing the amount of data that can be carried via light.

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  12. Animals

    Salamander ancestors could regenerate limbs

    Salamanders and ancient amphibians share similar way of regenerating limbs.

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