Life

Plants

Whale-free perfume

Tree gene trick is good news for people who like perfume made without sperm whale waste.

Animals

Chimp’s gift for numbers

Translating numbers into colors may explain an animal’s apparent memory trick.

Brain

Sweets on the brain

Sugar-free sweeteners fool the body’s internal computer.

Animals

Bye-bye, George

Ambassador of endangered species everywhere dies from old age.

Animals

Skeeters ride the rain

Mosquitoes survive collisions with raindrops by going with the flow.

Fossils

End of big bug era

Flying predators probably gobbled up the biggest of the large flying insects 150 million years ago

Brain

The smell of old people

Tests show that older adults have a distinct odor, but it isn’t bad.

Earth

The oldest place on Earth

Antarctica may seem like the dead continent, but it once bustled with life — a little of which still survives.

Brain

Candy on the brain

Imaging reveals brain regions that become active when you want someone else’s stuff.

Brain

No ordinary zzz’s

Anesthetics can put you in a coma — but that’s a good thing.

Animals

Mammals feel the heat

Scientists predict some animals won’t be able to keep up with Earth’s increasing temperatures.

Computing

DNA takes notes

Engineers develop a computer memory system based on living cells.