New Research

Ramazzottius varieornatus, the tardigrade examined in the study

Water Bear Genes Could Help Protect Space Explorers From Radiation

A protein produced by tardigrades, a group of microscopic but hardy creatures, protects and repairs DNA damaged by X-rays

Blind People Can Use Visual Areas of the Brain to Solve Math Problems

The brain is a highly adaptable organ

The male brown widow spider may not be as unlucky in love as we once thought.

Male Widow Spiders Prefer Younger Ladies—So They Don’t Get Eaten

This strategy means they live to mate again, upending assumptions about these arachnids

The forces that formed Pluto's heart may not be romantic, but the feature was love at first sight for scientists.

Scientists Finally Figured Out Why Pluto Has That Icy Heart

The dwarf planet’s geography, atmosphere and chemistry helped form its most famous feature

World's Oldest Fish Hooks Discovered in Okinawa

The 23,000-year-old barbs are made from snail shell. The discovery shows that early people had the resources to survive on the isolated island

Do outdoor cats need to die?

The Moral Cost of Cats

A bird-loving scientist calls for an end to outdoor cats "once and for all"

Some hybrid thrushes varied their routes, suggesting that different genes may influence fall and spring migration.

Migratory Birds May Come Programmed With a Genetic Google Maps

These hybrid avians inherit some mixed directional messages

Archaeologists excavating the Antikythera Shipwreck skeletal remains.

Skeleton Pulled From the Antikythera Shipwreck Could Give Clues to Life Aboard the Vessel

Archaeologists hope to analyze DNA taken from a skeleton found among the wreckage

Record-Breaking Lightning Strikes Force Redefinition of the Thunderbolt

A 199.5-mile-long streak captured the title for world's longest and a 7.74-second blast won world's brightest

A hammerhead caught on a longline.

Is It Too Late to Save Red Sea Sharks?

With anti-fishing laws virtually unenforced, sharks off the coast of Saudi Arabia are being fished to death

This image shows a scrap of the indigo-dyed fabric (right) and a diagram of the cloth (left), highlighting the blue stripes.

Earliest Evidence of Indigo Dye Found at Ancient Peruvian Burial Site

The dyed fabrics represent the earliest known use of indigo in the world, predating Egyptian samples by about 1,600 years

“I’m not drunk, YOU’RE drunk”

People Feel More Tipsy if Their Friends Are Already Drunk

Understanding perceived levels of intoxication could help cities combat disorderly conduct

A death god holds a prisoner captive in this page from the Grolier Codex.

New Analysis Shows Disputed Maya “Grolier Codex” Is the Real Deal

Archaeologists long thought the document was forged, but a recent study suggests otherwise

A new imaging system could help people to read books without touching them.

This Camera Uses Radiation to Read Closed Books

No need to open a book to read past its cover

Sugar companies have gotten themselves in a sticky situation.

Sugar Study Draws Attention to Food Industry’s Sour Secret

Food industries have long opened their wallets to snag a piece of the science pie

E. coli quickly becomes antibiotic resistant.

Watch E.coli Evolve Before Your Eyes

This is how antibiotic resistance happens

Pew Research Shows Public Libraries Remain Vital to Communities

The latest poll shows that the majority of Americans think libraries have the resources they need

A Starchy Sixth Sense Could Explain Why Humans Love Carbs

Our tongues may be even more sensitive than once thought

Diesel fumes, like the ones emitted by trains, vehicles and industrial operations, are thought to be to blame for magnetite in the human brain.

Your Brain Is Full of Magnetic Minerals, and You Might Not Like the Reason Why

Blame air pollution for the microscopic minerals that go up your nose and into your noggin

Like humans, captive Komodo dragons tend to impose their microbes upon their environments.

Captive Komodo Dragons Share Their Teeming Microbiome with Their Environment, Just Like Us

Komodos could be the perfect model for studying host-microbe interactions

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