New Research

Lone Bacteria Are More Likely to Become Drug Resistant Than Big Colonies

This finding could help design ways to prevent antibiotic resistance

This is the face of deception.

This Bird Tricks Other Animals Into Handing Over Their Meals

The African drongo mimics warning calls of other animals to scare them away from food, but mixes true warnings with lies to keep those animals guessing

The Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza (Egypt). Ca. 1845. Lithography by David Roberts.

A Simple Trick May Have Helped the Egyptians Build the Pyramids

No ancient aliens needed: A little bit of water reduces friction when dragging a sled over sand

For 100 Years, Female Students Have Gotten Better Grades in Every Subject

Yes, that includes math and science

Computers Can Tell If You're Really in Pain—Even Better Than People Can

As computers become better at reading people's expressions, their potential as lie detectors and diagnostic aids increases

In a More Rational World, 4.1 Percent of People Sentenced to Death Would Be Exonerated

People whose sentences are downgraded to life in prison are less likely to be exonerated than those on death row

A Scientist's Gender Biases Mouse Research

Mice are scared of male researchers, but not female researchers, which could affect a huge chunk of biological research

Long-Haul Space Flights Might Damage Astronauts' Brains

This warning is based on a study involving rats, but researchers think it could apply to humans as well

Cougars Survived the Pleistocene Extinction Because They’ll Eat Just About Anything Meaty

Eating everything that's in front of you is key to eking by when times are tough

Facebook Users Most Often Unfriend People They Knew From High School

And how does that make the victim of the unfriending feel? Surprised, usually

"Fellow hermit crab? I'll eat you up!"

Cannibalistic Hermit Crabs Salivate at the Smell of Their Dead

Instead of responding to the smell of a relative’s death as the sign that a predator could be about, hermit crabs interpret this cue as fresh dinner

Antarctica Was Once As Warm As Sunny California

Nearby polar regions got up to Florida-level temperatures

Scientists Confirm That Cats a) Are Pretty Smart, b) Don't Really Care What You Want

Cats' impressive individuality makes it hard to study their smarts

The Mississippi River Carries More Than Enough Sand to Rebuild Its Sinking Delta

The mighty Mississippi carries enough sand and silt to rebuild Louisiana's disappearing marshes for the next 600 years

Mars’ Super-Thin Atmosphere May Mean that Flowing Water Was the Exception, Not the Rule

A new analysis suggests that Mars' atmosphere was often too thin to support liquid water

Skeletal remains being dug up at La Isabela, the first European settlement in the New World, founded by Christopher Columbus is 1493.

Scurvy Plagued Columbus' Crew, Even After the Sailors Left the Sea

Severe scurvy and malnutrition set the stage for the fall of La Isabela

Schools Ban Chocolate Milk; Kids Just Stop Drinking Milk Altogether

Kids wind up consuming less protein and wasting more milk when skim is all that's on the shelves

The bright spot on the lower left of Saturn's A ring is not Peggy, but rather the visible sign of Peggy's gravitation distortion of the ring structure.

Saturn’s Rings May Be Shredding One of Its Moons to Bits

Or giving birth to a new one

Real-Life True Blood Might Be Used in Trial Transfusions by 2016

Researchers in the U.K. have created the first man-made red blood cells of high enough quality to be introduced into the human body

Supernova remnant Puppis A.

The Big “Gravitational Wave” Finding May Have Actually Just Been Some Dust

A supernova remnant interacting with interstellar dust could have caused the signals interpreted to be gravitational waves

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