All Stories
- Animals
Scientists Say: Plankter
Plankton is the word used to describe a collection of these tiny free-floating organisms. This is what you call just one.
- Animals
Shark: Who’s your daddy?
Female sharks can store sperm from a male for months before releasing a case containing a fertilized egg. But almost 4 years? That’s a new record that has biologists scratching their heads over how this could have happened.
- Computing
Don’t hold ’em – just fold ’em
Scientists have designed a problem-solving process that allows a computer to win at a kind of poker. It gives a computer enough knowledge to win against any opponent — eventually.
- Climate
Desert plants: The ultimate survivors
Creosote, mesquite and other desert plants rely on different adaptations to thrive, even when no rain falls for an entire year.
- Climate
Fast sea level rise is a very recent change
Sea levels have been rising for more than a century. But that rise is now speeding up. That suggests that what is driving the rise — climate change — also has increased dramatically in recent years.
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Volunteers scoop poop to learn what animals ate
Growing human populations in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California lead predators to change their ways. To find out how, scientists are dispatching volunteers to scout out scat.
- Genetics
Immunity: Environment can have big impact
A study on twins suggests that environmental factors can shape a person's immune system more than genes do.
- Animals
How birds stay in the air
The sensors inside a boxy device measure the forces generated with each stroke of a bird’s wings. Learning how much force is needed to keep a bird aloft could help in designing future drones that flap, hover and dart.
- Brain
A new ‘spin’ on concussions
Scientists have suspected that rotational forces in the brain may underlie concussions. A new study used athletic mouthguards containing sensors. Data on head movements during collisions suggest that a twisting of the brain may underlie mild brain injuries, including concussion.
- Physics
Machine simulates the sun’s core
A machine heats iron atoms to temperatures that match the interior of the sun. This has helped solve a solar mystery.
- Animals
Resilient hearts for deep-sea divers
How do aquatic mammals have enough energy to hunt prey while steeply dropping their heart rate to stay underwater? A new study of dolphins and seals provides clues.
- Fossils
Scientists Say: Coprolite
Every living thing and signs of its existence — right down to their wastes — can fossilize under the right conditions. When poop fossilizes, it gets a special name.
