Life
- Animals
Creative ways to help coral reefs recover
Coral reefs are under siege from threats ranging from climate change to explosives. But scientists are developing ways to rebuild reefs before they disappear.
- Brain
Pain is contagious — at least in mice
Pain can move from one mouse to another. The trigger may be smell.
- Earth
Water sensor quickly detects algal poison
A new sensor can detect poisons from harmful algae within minutes so that drinking-water plants can start timely treatments.
- Brain
Out-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.”
- Brain
Teen 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.
- Brain
Zombies are real!
Some parasites worm their way into other creatures’ brains and alter their victims’ behavior. Meet zombie ants, spiders, cockroaches, fish and more.
- Animals
Peacock 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.
- Animals
Tasmanian 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.
- Life
Scientists 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.
- Brain
These 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.
- Health & Medicine
What is IQ — and how much does it matter?
Studies reveal that intelligence — and success in life — depend on more than what IQ tests measure.
- Agriculture
Bananas 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.
