Uncategorized
- Chemistry
Moisture unmasks camouflaged message
Researchers have developed a new type of chemical that will mask some hidden message — until you add water.
- Animals
Exploring the mysteries of Cuba’s coral reefs
Researchers are studying the mysterious lives of creatures in and near Cuba’s coral reefs. What they learn could help protect ocean life globally.
- Animals
Migrating crabs take their eggs to the sea
Cuba’s colorful land crabs connect swamp and sea with their yearly mass migrations. Protecting their routes can help other animals too.
- Physics
Legendary physicist Stephen Hawking dies at 76
Theoretical research by Stephen Hawking helped shape how scientists and the public alike would come to understand black holes and other facets of astrophysics.
- Health & Medicine
How the body protects us from potentially toxic amounts of sugar
A study in mice shows the small intestine shields the liver from the potentially damaging effects of exposure to fructose — but only up to a limit.
- Animals
Scientists recruit bloodsucking leeches as research assistants
By analyzing a slimy, bloodsucking leech’s last meal, scientists can identify which animals had been living near it.
- Animals
Explainer: DNA hunters
Snippets of DNA can be left behind by a passing organism. Some researchers now act as wildlife detectives to identify the sources of such cast-off DNA.
- Animals
Venus flytraps tend not to eat their pollinators
A first-ever study of what pollinates a Venus flytrap finds little overlap between the critters that serve as pollinators and those that are prey.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Ectoparasite
Many people think of parasites as organisms that live inside their hosts. But some of them can be found on the outside instead.
- Climate
Explainer: What is thundersnow?
Wacky weather produced lots of thundersnow during New England’s recent winter storms. Some scientists now suspect Mother Nature got some human help.
- Fossils
Ancient jaw suggests humans left Africa earlier than thought
A fossil jaw found in a cave in Israel is at least 177,000 years old. The scientists who found it think it shows humans left Africa much earlier than thought.
- Brain
En route to Mars, astronauts may face big health risks
Going into space brings the thrill of a new frontier — and risks that scientists are racing to understand, from radiation to isolation.
