New Research

Researchers discovered a red ochre- and milk-based paint on a stone flake from 49,000 years ago.

In South Africa, People Painted with Cow Milk Long Before They Domesticated Cattle

The need to hunt wild cow relatives would have made this paint valuable

Some ants, like the unidentified species above, take lazy breaks while others work.

Despite Their Industrious Reputation, Some Ants Are Super Lazy

Research suggests that some worker ants excel at inactivity

Ultrasonic Fingerprint Readers Can Unlock Phones Even When Your Fingers are Gross and Sweaty

Experts say ultrasound fingerprint sensors are harder to hack

A scanning electron micrograph of Yersinia pestis bacteria

These Two Mutations Turned Not-so-Deadly Bacteria Into the Plague

The ancestor of the bacterium responsible for the Black Plague isn’t nearly as deadly

Almost Half of Black and Latina Scientists Report They’ve Been Mistaken for Administrative Assistants or Janitors

Women of color in science are more likely to experience some forms of bias

Unlike the tails of almost all other animals, seahorse tails are more like square prisms than cylinders.

Why Seahorses Have Square Tails

Engineers show that the animals' prism-like tails are mechanically superior to cylindrical ones

Smelling a Fish May Improve Critical Thinking Skills

New research shows that gross smells can foster a healthy sense of distrust

A collection of fish teeth and shark scales from the Early Cenozoic period.

After the Dinosaurs Died, Earth Experienced the Age of Fish

The fossil record shows how ray-finned fishes took over the planet's oceans

How Many Craters Are There On Earth?

Not as many as you might think

The U.K.'s National Health Service plans to test artificial blood in a clinical trial in 2017.

The First Human Clinical Trial of Synthetic Blood Will Begin Soon

People could receive artificial blood transfusions as early as 2017

Horses race in the 2015 Belmont Stakes. Researchers have found that horse race speed has increased since 1850.

Racehorse Speed Hasn’t Peaked Yet

But how will horses fare in the race to get faster?

A small cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapae) hovers on a hedge mustard plant (Sisybrium officinale). While the butterfly might look harmless enough, its caterpillars engage in a chemical war with this mustard plant's cultivated relatives.

Mustard Is A Product Of Evolutionary Warfare Between Plants And Caterpillars

Plants produce mustard oils to fight off pests in a chemical conflict that’s been waged for millions of years

This illustration shows how the STIMband fits on a patient's head.

Could This Head Gear Help Treat Parkinson's Disease?

Students at Johns Hopkins University have created an at-home brain-stimulating device to ease Parkinson's symptoms

Colorized radar images from the Cassini spacecraft show some of the many lakes on Titan

Lakes on Saturn’s Moon are Really Sinkholes Filled With Liquid Methane and Ethane

Strange and changeable lakes might form just as certain water-filled lakes do on Earth

A reconstruction of "grandfather turtle."

This Ancient Creature Shows How the Turtle Got Its Shell

The 240-million-year-old "grandfather turtle" may be part of the evolutionary bridge between lizards and shelled reptiles

In Egypt, There Was Once a Tomb Full of Eight Million Dog Mummies

Devotees of the Ancient Egyptian deity Anubis buried dogs at the necropolis of Saqqara

The modern Mystacina tuberculata, depicted in the sketch above, may be a distant relative of a newly discovered ancient bat called Mystacina miocenalis.

16 Million Years Ago This Giant Bat Walked the Jungles of New Zealand

A new fossil gives clues to just how long ago bats arrived on the islands

A stained tissue sample from 1967 reveals the presence of Chlamydia psittaci bacteria.

The Mystery of the Failed Chlamydia Vaccine

In the 1960s, a vaccine for chlamydia made patients more susceptible to chlamydia. Now scientists know why

An image of the galaxy NGC 1097, home to the black hole researchers just weighed

How Do Scientists Weigh a Supermassive Black Hole?

A new method puts the mass of one black hole at 140 million times the mass of our Sun

Scientist know that Venus' surface, depicted here based on radar data, was shaped by volcanoes, and a new study suggests they may still be active.

Venus (Probably) Has Active Volcanoes

And they’re (probably) erupting!

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