Life
Some viruses thwart bacterial defenses with a unique genetic alphabet
DNA has four building blocks: A, C, T and G. But some bacteriophages swap A for Z, and scientists have figured out how and why they do it.
Life
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AnimalsMantis shrimp start practicing their punches at just 9 days old
The fastest punches in the animal kingdom probably belong to mantis shrimp, who begin unleashing these attacks just over a week after hatching.
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AnimalsThis praying mantis inflates a strange pheromone gland to lure mates
Researchers stumbled across a first among mantises: an inflatable organ that spreads pheromones, helping mates find each other in the dark rainforest.
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HumansNeandertal DNA from cave mud shows two waves of migration across Eurasia
Genetic material left behind in sediments reveals new details about how ancient humans once spread across the continent.
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LifeOnly 3 percent of Earth’s land hasn’t been marred by humans
A sweeping survey of terrestrial ecosystems finds that vanishingly little land houses all the animals it used to. Species reintroductions could help.
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Paleontology‘Monkeydactyl’ may be the oldest known creature with opposable thumbs
A newly discovered pterosaur that lived during the Jurassic Period could have used its flexible digits to climb trees like a monkey.
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AnthropologyA coronavirus epidemic may have hit East Asia about 25,000 years ago
An ancient viral outbreak may have left a genetic mark in East Asians that possibly influences their responses to the virus that causes COVID-19.
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NeuroscienceSurprisingly, humans recognize joyful screams faster than fearful screams
Scientists believed we evolved to respond to alarming screams faster than non-alarming ones, but experiments show our brains may be wired differently.
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EcosystemsWildfires launch microbes into the air. How big of a health risk is that?
How does wildfire smoke move bacteria and fungi — and what harm might they do to people when they get there?
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AnimalsDiscarded COVID-19 PPE such as masks can be deadly to wildlife
From entanglements to ingestion, two biologists are documenting the impact of single-use masks and gloves on animals around the world.