New Research

Artificial Sweeteners May Be Screwing Up How Your Body Handles Sugar

By affecting gut microbes, artificial sweeteners may be messing with your metabolism

The skeleton of Richard III

Richard III Suffered Severe Head Wounds in Battle

Analysis of the skeleton revels that he was likely not wearing a helmet when he died

We Evolved Unique Human Faces So We Could Tell One Another Apart

Human face shape is more variable than other parts of the body

Blood-sucking kissing bugs carry the parasite that causes Chagas disease, a malady that plagues some 9 million people in Latin America.

A Blood-Sucking Foe Lurks in Central American Caves

Kissing bugs, which can spread Chagas disease, turned up positive for human blood meals in caves in Guatemala and Belize

A carrion beetle fossil from the Cretaceous period.

Carrion Beetles Were the First Caring Parents

Flesh-eating beetles that lived 125 million years ago set the stage for modern parenting

A dead Chinese sturgeon found in the Yangtze in 2007

Chinese Sturgeon Is on the Brink of Extinction After 140 Million Years

Last year, the sturgeon didn’t reproduce at all in the wild

Schizophrenia Might Actually Be Eight Different Disorders

The finding could help researchers devise more effective treatments that are tailored for individual patients

The Average Prisoner Only Gets Two Visits While They Are Incarcerated

Prisoners who receive the most visitors, however, tend to do the best after they are released

The "skylight" appears as a light pink splotch atop this leatherback sea turtle's head.

Leatherback Sea Turtles Can Measure Sunlight Through Their Skulls

The anatomical skylight allows the turtles to synch up with the seasons

New Study: Blame Defective Wells for Fracking Leaks

Fixing shoddy wells could mean making fracking safer for the environment

This Map Shows Where All That Carbon Dioxide Is Coming From

Global carbon emissions have an obvious bias

Dog Movies Create Ten-Year Spikes in Breeds' Popularity

"Lassie" alone led to a 40 percent increase in the number of border collies that families adopted

Fish Eat Mammals on the Regular

A new study indicates that in some ecosystems, mammals are a fairly normal foodstuff for fish

Women Get More Politically Engaged When Their Senator Is Also Female

Women no longer lag far behind men in political savvy when they have a female leader to look toward

Saturn Is Making (And Destroying) Mini-Moons All The Time

Saturn's F ring is a little moon factory

Rescue workers look through the ruins left by the August 3, 2014 earthquake.

Deadly Chinese Earthquake May Have Been Man-Made

More than 600 people died in the August 3 Yunnan earthquake

When We're Lonely, Inanimate Faces Come Alive

Our minds are less particular about the source of comfort when we are craving contact with others

The World's Carbon Sinks May Be Running Out of Room

The Earth's biosphere may be absorbing less carbon than it used to

A model depicting a Viking ring fortress layout.

Newly Discovered Viking Fortress Could Have Been a Launch Point for Invading England

The ring-shaped complex could have been used as a military training ground

The cover of the 2014 State of the Birds 2014, the most extensive study of birds in the U.S. ever published.

The Most Extensive Report Ever on American Birds Says There’s Cause for Concern

Researchers from 23 groups just released the fifth State of the Birds report, which contains good and bad news

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