Life
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BrainOut-of-whack body clock causes more than sleepiness
When the body’s “clock” doesn’t match the cues its getting from outside, people can feel bad. Researchers are using math to explain this “circadian-time sickness.”
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BrainTeen brains may have an advantage — better learning
The teen brain is infamous for prizing rewards and encouraging risky behavior. But their reward-driven behavior may help those teens learn some things better than adults.
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BrainZombies are real!
Some parasites worm their way into other creatures’ brains and alter their victims’ behavior. Meet zombie ants, spiders, cockroaches, fish and more.
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AnimalsPeacock spider’s radiant rump comes from teeny tiny structures
Male peacock spiders have highly colored hind ends that they shake to attract females. Scientists have now figured out the physics responsible for those hues.
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AnimalsTasmanian devils begin to resist infectious cancer
A deadly contagious cancer is spreading among Tasmanian devils. But the animals are evolving resistance, a new study finds.
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LifeScientists watch germs evolve into superbugs
To study how bacteria can evolve resistance to a wide variety of drugs, scientists spread the germs on a food-filled plate the size of a foosball table. Then, they watched resistance rise.
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BrainThese scientists are getting inside your head
You brain might only weigh few pounds, but there’s a whole world in there. Meet the women in science who are digging into the mysteries of the mind.
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Health & MedicineWhat is IQ — and how much does it matter?
Studies reveal that intelligence — and success in life — depend on more than what IQ tests measure.
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AgricultureBananas under attack: Understanding their foes
Fungal blights threaten the world’s most popular fruit. But genetic studies hint at new ways to combat some of these diseases.
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LifeScientists Say: Autophagy
Cells can break down and recycle their parts for later use. This process — called autophagy — won a scientist a Nobel Prize in 2016.
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AnimalsSurprising primate fossils found in an Indian coal mine
Bones of a 54.5-million-year-old primate suggest India might have been a hotbed of early primate evolution.
By Bruce Bower -
AnimalsEarthworms: Can these gardeners’ friends actually become foes?
Asian jumping worms can strip leaf litter from floor of U.S. forests, new data show. Many native plants need that leaf litter for their seeds to germinate.