Sorcha McDonagh

All Stories by Sorcha McDonagh

  1. Animals

    A bowerbird’s guide to style

    To attract a mate, male bowerbirds go for a cheaper, low-key look instead of showy decorations.

  2. Agriculture

    Protecting cows—and people—from a deadly disease

    Mad cow disease has appeared in the United States, but scientists say it can be contained easily.

  3. Planets

    Catching a Comet’s Tail

    A closeup visit by a NASA spacecraft helps show how a comet gets its shape.

  4. Tech

    A micro-dose of your own medicine

    Medicine-delivering microchips implanted in the body could replace some injections and pills.

  5. Fossils

    Did dinosaurs do handstands?

    Enormous dinosaurs might have balanced on their front feet when wading in shallow water.

  6. Fossils

    Watery fate for nature’s gliders

    Fossil bones hint that sea-level increases doomed Atlantic albatross populations.

  7. Humans

    The puzzle of ancient mariners

    Prehistoric sailors may have traveled from island to island across the ocean.

  8. Humans

    Of Lice and Old Clothes

    The history of lice hints that people started wearing clothes regularly about 70,000 years ago.

  9. Tech

    Tinkering With the Basic Bike

    Turning a bicycle into a blender, and making it go faster and farther with less effort.

  10. Space

    Zooming In on the Wild Sun

    A close look at the sun reveals a chaotic, ever-changing surface.

  11. Brain

    The Social Side of Baby Talk

    A mother's body language can make her baby's babbles more like speech.