Fossils
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FossilsTar pit bones yield climate clues
During the last ice age, more than 12,000 years ago, many unusual creatures wandered Southern California. Some got trapped in tar pits there. Now, their preserved remains are providing scientists with clues about summer weather during that bygone era.
By Sid Perkins -
FossilsDino-sized poop
Ewww: Scientists use poop from living animals to estimate the size of dung dropped by T. rex and other dinos.
By Sid Perkins -
FossilsShoulder bones fuel debate
Fossil shoulder blades suggest an ancient humanlike species may have been at home in the trees as well as on the ground.
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FossilsA fishy mammal ID
For more than a century, the fossilized skull of an ancient fish was misidentified as a primate.
By Sid Perkins -
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FossilsTiny fossil tells big tale
Scientists use a single finger bone from ancient, humanlike Denisovans to study their connection to modern people and Neandertals.
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FossilsNew Jurassic flier
Amazingly well-preserved fossil depicts a novel flying reptile from the age of dinosaurs.
By Janet Raloff -
FossilsDino find ruffles feathers
Nearly-perfect, newfound dinosaur fossil reveals more dinos were feathered than previously thought.
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FossilsHot or cold dinos
Patterns in dinosaur bones fuel a debate over whether they were warm- or cold-blooded.
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AnimalsCool Jobs: Studying what you love
Researchers study the same animals that fascinated them as kids.
By Roberta Kwok -
FossilsEnd of big bug era
Flying predators probably gobbled up the biggest of the large flying insects 150 million years ago
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EarthThe oldest place on Earth
Antarctica may seem like the dead continent, but it once bustled with life — a little of which still survives.
By Douglas Fox