Life

  1. Climate

    Numbats are built to hold heat, making climate change extra risky for the marsupials

    New thermal imaging shows how fast numbats’ surface temperature rises even at relatively reasonable temperatures.

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  2. Paleontology

    The oldest known fossilized skin shows how life adapted to land

    The nearly 290 million-year-old cast belonged to a species of amniotes, four-legged vertebrates that today comprises all reptiles, birds and mammals.

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  3. Genetics

    How ancient herders rewrote northern Europeans’ genetic story

    New DNA analyses show the extent of the Yamnaya people’s genetic reach starting 5,000 years ago and how it made descendants prone to diseases like MS.

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  4. Paleontology

    Earth’s largest ape went extinct 100,000 years earlier than once thought

    Habitat changes drove the demise of Gigantopithecus blacki, a new study reports. The find could hold clues for similarly imperiled orangutans.

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  5. Paleontology

    The real culprit in a 19th century dinosaur whodunit is finally revealed

    Contrary to the stories handed down among paleontologists, creationism wasn’t to blame for the destruction of Central Park’s dinosaurs.

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  6. Life

    Here’s how poison dart frogs safely hoard toxins in their skin

    A protein found in frog bodies may help the amphibians collect and transport toxins from their food to their skin for chemical defense.

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  7. Anthropology

    Ancient primates’ unchipped teeth hint that they ate mostly fruit

    Of more than 400 teeth collected, just 21 were chipped, suggesting that early primate diets were soft on their choppers.

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  8. Life

    Bacteria fossils hold the oldest signs of machinery needed for photosynthesis

    Microfossils from Australia suggest that cyanobacteria evolved structures for oxygen-producing photosynthesis by 1.78 billion years ago.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Fetuses make a protein that causes morning sickness in pregnancy

    A hormone called GDF15 triggers a part of the brain involved in nausea and vomiting, a new study finds. Blocking its action may lead to treatments.

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  10. Animals

    Ant face patterns like swirls and stubble might have practical value

    Reviewing thousands of ant photos hints that facial surface patterns might offer benefits, like structural support or abrasion protection.

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  11. Animals

    Reindeer can sleep while they chew

    Brain waves and behaviors suggest that reindeer can doze while chewing, a timesaving strategy for sleeping under tough conditions.

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  12. Life

    The Endangered Species Act is turning 50. Has it succeeded?

    After 50 years, this landmark law has kept many species alive — but few wild populations have recovered enough to come off the “endangered” list.

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