Life
- Animals
Picture This: Plesiosaurs swam like penguins
A computer model suggests plesiosaurs — ancient marine reptiles — swam like penguins, using front flippers for power and back flippers for steering.
- Tech
Powered by poop and pee?
Scientists are developing methods to not only remove human waste from wastewater, but also to harness the energy hidden within it.
- Animals
Bugs that call your house home
A survey of North Carolina homes found hundreds of species of insects, arachnids and other arthropods. Most, though, were harmless.
- Brain
Zika worries go global
The World Health Organization says the devastating birth defects and brain disorders linked to the Zika virus are an international health emergency.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Amusia
When you can’t carry a tune, you might have amusia, a brain disorder where people can’t tell one note from another.
- Health & Medicine
Zika virus raises alarm as it spreads in the Americas
Zika virus has been in Africa and Asia for decades. But is has now spread to the Americas. And it may cause a devastating birth defect.
- Animals
Why some penguin feathers never freeze
Oil and tiny pores prevent the feathers on some penguins from freezing. The discovery could inspire new ways to keep ice off of airplane wings.
- Animals
Using dolphins to find unknown ocean pollutants
Long-lasting pollutants may threaten marine mammals and human health. To find those pollutants, scientists are sampling blubber, then running the fatty material through new types of tests.
- Life
Cell recount: People host far fewer germs
Since the 1970s, microbiologists have been saying bacteria outnumber human cells in our bodies by about 10-to-1. A new analysis says that old number was a “fake” fact — and gross exaggeration.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: What is skin?
The body’s soft, outer armor contains three layers, each with its own important role to play.
- Health & Medicine
The truth about zits
A common bacterium called P. acnes usually helps keep the skin healthy. But under some conditions, and especially during puberty, it can trigger painful, embarrassing outbreaks of unsightly pimples.
- Genetics
Behavior of genes could identify type of infection
The behavior of hundreds of genes can identify a viral infection, a new study finds. That could help doctors determine treatment for a sick patient.
