Life

  1. Brain

    Explainer: Our bodies’ internal clocks

    Biological clocks determine hunger, sleepiness and other daily rhythms.

    By Amanda Leigh Mascarelli
  2. Health & Medicine

    Flu in the air

    Germs tiny enough to pass through surgical masks may cause half of all cases.

    By Stephen Ornes
  3. Plants

    Old, cold moss grows again

    Mosses are mini but mighty: Even after centuries buried beneath a glacier, some of these small, flowerless plants can regrow.

    By Stephen Ornes
  4. Health & Medicine

    Killer-flu update

    Infection that recently developed in China shows signs of being easy to spread and hard to kill.

    By Janet Raloff
  5. Brain

    A mind for math

    A part of the brain associated with making memories may also predict success in learning math.

    By Stephen Ornes
  6. Animals

    Here comes Swarmageddon!

    This spring and summer, trillions of cicadas will emerge in the eastern United States

    By Sid Perkins
  7. Animals

    Blending in

    Engineers take a lesson from nature’s masters of disguise.

    By Eric Niiler
  8. Animals

    Honey’s hidden helper

    Scientists identify a substance in honey that helps bee bodies fight poisons.

    By Stephen Ornes
  9. Animals

    Motion in the ocean

    Scientists figure out why pulsing corals pulse.

    By Stephen Ornes
  10. Brain

    Perfect pacifier

    In people and mice, carrying a baby calms it.

    By Stephen Ornes
  11. Microbes

    Deadly new flu

    The germ responsible carries genes from other flu viruses.

    By Stephen Ornes
  12. Brain

    The stuff of dreams

    Computer program decodes dreams, finds similar brain activity patterns for objects seen while asleep or awake.

    By Stephen Ornes