Paleontology
This dinosaur had a weapon shaped like an Aztec war club on its tail
The flat and spiky tail club of a newly discovered ankylosaur was unique, even for this often weirdly armored group of dinosaurs.
Life
More Stories in Life
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AnimalsA new book shows how animals are already coping with climate change
‘Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid’ takes a clear-eyed look at future of animal life.
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MicrobesA sailor’s story captures the impact of rising serious fungal infections
Fungal infections are hard to diagnose, hard to treat and are on the rise. A young sailor is staying positive to navigate the challenges.
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LifeAlbatrosses divorce more often when ocean waters warm
In one part of the Falkland Islands, up to 8 percent of the famously faithful birds ditch partners in years when the ocean is warmer than average.
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Life‘Life as We Made It’ charts the past and future of genetic tinkering
A new book shatters illusions that human meddling with nature has only just begun.
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AnimalsClimate change may be shrinking tropical birds
Scientists had previously found that migratory birds are getting smaller as temperatures rise. Dozens of tropical, nonmigratory species are too.
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Materials ScienceResearchers have unlocked the secret to pearls’ incredible symmetry
Understanding the structural secrets of how mollusks form symmetrical pearls could inspire more optimal materials for solar panels and space travel.
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LifeSome songbirds now migrate east to west. Climate change may play a role
In recent decades, more Richard's pipits are wintering in Europe than before. It may signal the establishment of a totally new migration route.
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Paleontology‘Penis worms’ may have been the original hermits
Soft-bodied critters called penis worms inhabited abandoned shells — a la modern-day hermit crabs — by about 500 million years ago, a study suggests.
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Neuroscience50 years ago, scientists were on the trail of ‘memory molecules’
In the 1970s, scientists found the first “memory molecule.” Several other candidates have popped up in the decades since.