The –est

  1. Animals

    ‘Octomom’ sets egg-brooding record

    The deep ocean reveals a new record as an octopus mom broods the same clutch of eggs for almost 4.5 years.

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  2. Animals

    Elephant’s big nose wins most sensitive sniffer

    A genetic survey reveals that African elephants harbor more smell sensors than any other known animal.

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  3. Paleontology

    Fossils reveal largest airborne bird

    Despite its massive size, an extinct bird may have been an efficient glider.

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  4. Life

    California mite becomes fastest land animal

    Despite being the size of a sesame seed, the Paratarsotomus macropalpis mite can outpace Usain Bolt and even a cheetah in terms of body lengths per second.

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  5. Astronomy

    Young, hot exoplanet takes title for longest year

    Newly discovered exoplanet sits a whopping 2,000 times farther from its star than Earth does from the sun.

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  6. Paleontology

    Loblolly sets record for biggest genome

    At 20 billion base pairs, the loblolly pine is the largest genome sequenced to date.

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  7. Paleontology

    ‘Hidden dragon’ fossil is oldest flying reptile

    Researchers have unearthed the oldest pterodactyl ever discovered: Kptodrakon progenitor soared over the Earth 163 million years ago.

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  8. Physics

    Laser kicks molecules into fastest ever spin

    The powerful kick of a laser has spun molecules faster than they’ve ever been spun before: 10 trillion rotations per second, or 600 trillion RPM.

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  9. Paleontology

    Oldest bug bonk

    Preserved as fossils, two insects remain caught in the act 165 million years later.

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  10. Physics

    Oldest pitch-drop experiment

    The allure of pitch — a black tarlike hydro-carbon by-product of distilling petroleum, wood or coal — comes from its split personality: It shatters from a quick hit with a hammer, but flows if set aside for long periods.

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  11. Earth

    Biggest volcano hulks deep

    Tamu Massif forms a broad, rounded dome rising about 4 kilometers from the seafloor and stretching 450 by 650 kilometers across.

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  12. Quantum Physics

    Most precise clock

    It would take more than 50 billion years for a new atomic clock to gain or lose a second.

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