All Stories
- Genetics
For some kids, their rock-star hair comes naturally
A variant of a gene involved in hair-shaft formation was linked to most of the uncombable-hair-syndrome cases analyzed in a recent study.
- Chemistry
Lego-like way to snap molecules together wins 2022 chemistry Nobel
This so-called ‘click chemistry’ allows scientists to build complex molecules in the lab and in living cells.
- Animals
Science is just starting to understand what animals feel
Animal-welfare researchers are studying the feelings and experiences of horses, octopuses and more.
- Physics
Experiments on ‘entangled’ quantum particles won the physics Nobel Prize
Three pioneers in quantum physics share the 2022 Nobel Prize in physics.
- Genetics
Examining Neandertal and Denisovan DNA wins a 2022 Nobel Prize
Svante Pääbo figured out how to examine the genetic material from these hominid ‘cousins’ of modern humans.
- Physics
Let’s learn about ‘ghost particles’
Ghostly particles called neutrinos are so lightweight that for a long time, they were thought to have no mass at all.
- Animals
Watch: This red fox is the first spotted fishing for its food
Big fish in shallow water were easy pickings for this red fox. It’s the first of its species known to fish.
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- Tech
NASA’s DART spacecraft crashed into an asteroid — on purpose
This mission could provide a blueprint for how to deflect a killer asteroid, if one is ever found headed for Earth.
- Animals
Living mysteries: This critter has 38 times more DNA than you do
The genomes of salamanders are bloated with genetic “parasites.” That extra DNA slows down their lives and strands them in perpetual childhood.
- Animals
Several mammals use a South American tree as their pharmacy
Researchers in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest stumbled onto something very strange. They watched as animals “doctored” themselves with products from a tree.
- Animals
Bizarre ancient critter has spines but no anus
The spiny discovery moves this minion lookalike off a distant limb on the human family tree.
