Uncategorized
- Animals
World’s smallest snail record broken again
Snails may not be speedy, but itty-bitty snail shells found in Borneo are breaking a size record at a breakneck pace.
By Susan Milius - Climate
How to melt an ice cave
Frigid winter air keeps gives ice caves their perpetual chill, researchers find, warning that airtight seals on some ice caves could cause the frigid formations to melt within decades.
- 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.
- Animals
‘On the Wing’ chronicles origins of flying animals
In "On the Wing," a biomechanicist reviews how animals took to the air.
By Sid Perkins - Anthropology
Early globalization on display in history of Eurasian civilization
It was a long, strange trip from the first Eurasian farmers to the modern world.
By Bruce Bower - Planetary Science
Probes unveil three hidden blemishes on moon’s face
Gravitational tugs on a pair of spacecraft have revealed previously unseen blemishes on the moon’s face.
- Tech
Electronic skin feels the heat, hears the sound
Electronic skin inspired by human fingertips detects texture, pressure, heat and sound.
By Meghan Rosen - Earth
New fascination with Earth’s ‘Boring Billion’
The Mesoproterozoic era, known as the boring billion, had very low oxygen, but it set the stage for the evolution of animals.
- 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.
- Neuroscience
Itch-busting nerve cells could block urge to scratch
A group of nerve cells in the spinal cord keep mechanical itch in check.
- Anthropology
Petite primate fossil could upend ideas about ape evolution
Ancient fossils suggest modern apes descended from a small, gibbonlike creature.
By Bruce Bower - Neuroscience
1960s dog brain transplant was not followed by human studies
A pioneering study to transplant a dog’s brain led to later work on a monkey, but ethical considerations and technical know-how have prevented further work.