Animals
Platypus fur has a surprising feature seen only in bird feathers
Platypuses are the first mammals known to have hollow melanosomes, pigment-bearing structures found in the hair of many animals.
By Jude Coleman
Slideshow
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
More Stories in Slideshow
- Planetary Science
New Horizons visited Pluto 10 years ago. We’re still learning from it
Over the past decade, researchers have been puzzling through Pluto’s mysteries. Meanwhile, the New Horizons probe heads for interstellar space.
- Health & Medicine
See how the herpesvirus reshapes our cells’ DNA in just eight hours
New imaging tools reveal how within an hour of infection, the virus begins to alter our chromosomes to kick-start its own replication.
- Astronomy
Two spacecraft created their first images of an artificial solar eclipse
The Proba-3 spacecraft succeed at creating solar eclipses, kicking off a two-year mission to study the sun’s mysterious outer atmosphere, the corona.
- Animals
50 years after ‘Jaws,’ sharks face their own terror
Humans have driven sharks and their cousins to the brink of extinction. The health of the entire ocean is at stake.
- Animals
This spider’s barf is worse than its bite
Most spider species subdue dinner by injecting venom from their fangs. Feather-legged lace weavers swathe prey in silk, then upchuck a killing brew.
- Animals
Ancient poems document the decline of the Yangtze finless porpoise
The porpoise is critically endangered. Ancient Chinese poems reveal the animal’s range has dropped about 65 percent over the past 1,400 years.
- Humans
Ancient horse hunts challenge ideas of ‘modern’ human behavior
An archaeological site in Germany suggests communal hunting and complex thinking emerged earlier in human evolution than once thought.
- Space
Two astronauts stuck in space for 9 months have returned to Earth
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore’s extended stay in the International Space Station will add to what we know about how space affects health.
- Health & Medicine
Measles is spreading. Here’s what experts say you should know
The uptick in measles cases has left many people wondering about early signs of measles, whether they need an updated vaccine and treatment options.
