Life

  1. Brain

    Fooling the mind’s eye

    Brain scientists find they have much to learn from magicians and their tricks.

    By Amanda Leigh Mascarelli
  2. Animals

    Cool Jobs: Scents of science

    Better understanding of the sense of smell inspires research into everything from whales to electronic ‘noses’

    By Pippa Wysong
  3. Animals

    By a whisker

    Hardly a fad: Some facial hair serves important functions, scientists find.

    By Sharon Pochron
  4. Animals

    Monkeys’ mistake detector

    Specific brain cells in macaques respond to fellow animal’s error.

    By Roberta Kwok
  5. Fossils

    New Jurassic flier

    Amazingly well-preserved fossil depicts a novel flying reptile from the age of dinosaurs.

    By Janet Raloff
  6. Animals

    Python-palooza!

    Monster-sized Burmese python bearing record-number of eggs retrieved in the Florida Everglades.

    By Janet Raloff
  7. Genetics

    DNA hints at ancient cousins

    Scientists find evidence of an extinct humanlike species within modern-day Africans.

    By Roberta Kwok
  8. Microbes

    Surprising rabies resistance

    Amazon villagers survive deadly disease carried by vampire bats.

    By Stephen Ornes
  9. Climate

    Iron versus climate change

    Metal deposits can promote the growth of ocean algae that gobble greenhouse gas.

    By Roberta Kwok
  10. Genetics

    Twins don’t share everything

    Twins carry different flags on their DNA, even from birth.

    By Stephen Ornes
  11. Fossils

    Dino find ruffles feathers

    Nearly-perfect, newfound dinosaur fossil reveals more dinos were feathered than previously thought.

    By Stephen Ornes
  12. Animals

    A trout’s nose-y magnets

    Cells in a fish’s snout respond to magnets.

    By Stephen Ornes