News
- Health & Medicine
More adults put off kids’ vaccinations
Scientists say the practice has no proven value and poses risks of infection.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Like a prion, Alzheimer’s protein seeds itself in the brain
Injecting amyloid-beta into mice may induce misfolding of native amyloid-beta molecules, leading to the buildup associated with the neuron-killing disease.
- Life
Peacocks ruffle feathers, make a rumble
New recordings reveal that male birds use infrasound, emitting low-pitch sounds detected by peers but inaudible to human ears.
By Susan Milius - Tech
The descent of music
Using an evolutionary process, researchers create pleasing tunes out of grating noise.
- Astronomy
Giant celestial disk hard to explain
A star's oversized debris ring challenges theories of planet formation.
By Nadia Drake - Life
Chicks do worse in noisy nests
Baby bluebirds, and their parents, appear to have trouble communicating over the racket made by nearby humans.
By Susan Milius - Humans
Color this chimp amazing
An extra layer of sensory perception called synesthesia might help ape make a monkey of humans on memory tests.
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- Earth
13th century volcano mystery may be solved
Indonesian volcano may be the culprit in the biggest eruption of the last seven millennia.
- Humans
European cave art gets older
Ancient illustrations in northern Spain date to more than 40,000 years ago.
By Bruce Bower - Life
Grasshoppers’ terror outlives them
After an existence plagued by predatory spiders, the insects pass into oblivion, leaving a legacy of impoverished soil.
By Devin Powell - Life
Calcium offers clues in mass extinction
Ocean acidification during Permian period may have caused the Great Dying.
By Devin Powell