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Stories from Alex Fox

Researchers found low levels of radiation from Cold War nuclear tests in local honey produced in the Eastern United States.

Fallout From Cold War Nuclear Testing Detected in U.S. Honey

The radiation found doesn’t represent a health risk for humans, but it might impact bees

A mounted specimen of the type of tyrannosaur at the heart of new research that suggests these predators may have lived in groups. These skeletons are from a species named Teratophoneus curriei, and show an adult (left) and juvenile (right) at the Natural History Museum of Utah.

New Fossils Suggest Tyrannosaurs May Have Hunted in Packs

Researchers say the trove of four or five specimens found in southern Utah challenges the assumption that these predators were solitary

The newly rediscovered species, Coffea stenophylla, has black fruit or cherries surrounding its "beans" which are actually seeds. Plant researchers are excited by the species' tolerance of higher temperatures and desirable flavor characteristics.

Rediscovered Coffee Species Boosts Crop’s Climate Resilience Without Sacrificing Taste

The rare, wild species was well-received by taste-testers and can grow in much higher temperatures than the most commonly cultivated varieties

Smoke rises from a wildfire in the summer of 2019 near Talkeetna, Alaska.

New-Growth Alaskan Forests May Store More Carbon After Wildfires

Researchers find forests are regrowing with more deciduous trees, which are more resistant to burning and may eventually store 160 percent more carbon

An artist's rendering of a newly described species of flying reptile named Kunpengopterus antipollicatus. The Jurassic-era pterosaur may be the earliest animal known to possess opposable thumbs.

A Prehistoric Flying Creature Nicknamed ‘Monkeydactyl’ May Have Climbed Trees Using Opposable Thumbs

The newly described Jurassic pterosaur may be the oldest animal known to possess opposable thumbs

The Indian jumping ant (Harpegnathos saltator).

This Ant Can Shrink and Regrow Its Brain

Indian jumping ants shrink their brains when they become their colony’s queen, but they can also grow the brain back if they quit the gig

Blue pieces of microplastic viewed under a microscope alongside dust, minerals and charcoal collected from a park in Idaho.

Airborne Microplastics ‘Now Spiral Around the Globe’

Researchers find the tiny synthetic particles can stay aloft for nearly a week and travel large distances in the wind

Researchers took cross sectional scans of a spider web with a laser to make this 3D image of its structure that they eventually translated into music.

Researchers Turn Spider Webs Into Music

The eerie compositions offer humans an approximation of how spiders experience their surroundings through vibrations

These polished stones collected in Wyoming may have been carried some 600 miles from Wisconsin inside the stomachs of sauropods.

Stones Hint at Possible 600-Mile Dinosaur Migration From Wisconsin to Wyoming

Some 150 million years ago, prehistoric plant-eaters may have carried the rocks in their bellies to aid digestion

As many as 70 orcas cooperatively hunted, killed and ate a roughly 50-foot long blue whale last month off the coast of Australia.

More Than 50 Orcas Hunt and Kill Blue Whale Off Australian Coast

This is one of just a handful of times that orcas have ever been recorded killing a blue whale

A new study found rat poison in the bodies of more than 80 percent of 133 dead bald and golden eagles from across the U.S.

Study Finds Rat Poison in Dead Eagles From Across the U.S.

More than 82 percent of 133 eagles tested had so-called anticoagulant rodenticides in their bodies

New research says the United States would need to more than double its current seedling production to add 30 billion trees by 2040.

To Fight Climate Change With Trees, America Needs More Seedlings

New research estimates the U.S. would need to double production to meet its reforestation goals

New research finds lions that have just yawned together are more likely to move in unison.

Contagious Yawning May Keep Lion Prides in Sync

A study finds after yawning together, lions were 11 times more likely to copy the actions of the individual that yawned first

A viral video shows an octopus (not pictured) lashing out at an Australian tourist in shallow water.

A Very Angry Octopus Goes Viral After Lashing Out at an Australian Tourist

A video posted to social media captures the cephalopod’s arm-flinging attack

A study of ten narwhal tusks reveals how the animals are responding to a swiftly changing Arctic.

Study of Narwhal Tusks Reveals a Swiftly Changing Arctic

Chemical analysis of ten tusks shows shifting diets and increasing levels of mercury as climate change warms the polar region

Grasshoppers swarm a street light a few blocks from the Las Vegas Strip on July 26, 2019.

Las Vegas Was Inundated by 46 Million Grasshoppers on a Single Night in 2019

A new study says the horde of insects was drawn to the Vegas Strip by its famously bright lights

A new study suggests the lush, hyper-diverse rainforests of South America were shaped by the asteroid impact that killed off the dinosaurs.

How the Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Spurred the Evolution of the Modern Rainforest

New evidence from fossil plants shows today’s South American rainforests arose in the wake of Earth’s fifth mass extinction

This is an atomic clock that uses the predictable frequency of ytterbium atoms absorbing and emitting light to tell time. A new experiment paired a ytterbium-based atomic clock with two others that used aluminum and strontium atoms, respectively, to create an even more accurate measure of time.

New Atomic Clocks May Someday Redefine the Length of a Second

Researchers used three atomic clocks to measure time accurately down to the quadrillionth of a percent

A satellite image of North America taken on August 25, 2020. Smoke from wildfires can be seen rising from California and Hurricane Laura can be seen heading toward Louisiana and eastern Texas as the remnants of Marco swirl over the Southeast.

NOAA’s Weather Forecasting System Just Got a Major Update

The new version of the Global Forecast System could give Americans in the path of a hurricane an additional 36 hours to prepare compared to the old model

A newly emerged cicada from Brood X suns itself.

14 Fun Facts About Cicadas

Amazing details about the buzzing insects set to storm the United States this spring

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