All Stories

  1. Oceans

    Analyze This: Even as Earth’s oceans warm, one spot has gone cold

    A cold blob of water in the North Atlantic suggests that an important ocean current is weakening.

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  2. Animals

    Cuddling helps apes keep the peace

    Humans could learn from chimpanzees and bonobos. When things get tense, these apes turn to group members for hugs, touches and other physical comfort.

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  3. Artificial Intelligence

    AI … in space!

    In WALL-E, artificial intelligence runs an entire ship. Real-life AI, though, is too finicky and prone to mistakes to manage that.

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  4. Science & Society

    Scientists Say: Paradox

    When gut instinct leads you astray, paradoxes can point the right way.

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  5. Tech

    Like an armadillo, a new soft robot rolls up to protect itself

    Like the three-banded armadillo, this device can roll up to shield its innards, such as sensitive electronics and a small payload.

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  6. Archaeology

    When we were prey

    Bite marks on a 2-million-year-old human jaw suggest leopards once hunted people as prey. People likely survived by learning to team up.

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  7. Oceans

    Seals helped this oceanographer study the Southern Ocean 

    Oceanographer Lily Dove uses remote robots to study Antarctica’s perilous oceans.

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  8. Fossils

    Let’s learn about trace fossils

    Trace fossils — such as burrows, footprints and vomit — offer snapshots of ancient life.

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  9. Physics

    Scientists Say: Antimatter

    Most of the universe consists of ordinary matter. But not all. A tiny fraction is matter’s mysterious twin: antimatter.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    A protein building block may help fight viruses and cancer

    As a food supplement, arginine might one day help cut tumor formation and the proliferation of viruses in the body, mouse data suggest.

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  11. Brain

    The human brain may owe a lot of its size to our love of sweets

    Meats were important, too. But throughout human evolution, fruits may have fueled much of the brain growth in our primate cousins and early ancestors.

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  12. Oceans

    Are major ocean currents moving to turn Earth into a snowball?

    A key ocean current that warms Europe is weakening, which could lead to a big chill. Scientists are now discussing how we might avoid that.

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