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Stories from Sara Hashemi

Houston is the fastest-sinking of the 28 most populated U.S. cities, according to a new study that examined the urban areas through satellite observations. The Texas city got most of its water from the ground in the 1950s to ’70s, which led to subsidence.

The Land Beneath the Biggest U.S. Cities Is Sinking, Finds New Analysis of Satellite Data

Largely due to groundwater pumping and shifting of land after the last ice age, major urban areas are subsiding, which could destabilize buildings or worsen flooding

A new study suggests chimpanzees don't just perform self-care—in some cases, they look out for each other.

Chimpanzees Perform First Aid on Each Other, Study Finds, and It May Shed Light on the Evolution of Human Health Care

Researchers describe cases of chimps tending to others’ wounds, as well as a chimp that freed another from a snare

A new study reveals how Chilean flamingos are so adept at finding food.

Feeding Flamingos Create Underwater Tornado-Like Vortices to Capture Their Prey, Study Finds

Rather than passively filter-feeding, the birds use their heads, beaks and feet to generate motion in the water that funnels invertebrates into their mouths

The researchers conducted static compression tests to measure the force needed to break the eggs in different positions.

This Is the Best Way to Drop an Egg Without Breaking It, According to Scientists

Experiments challenge the commonly held idea that dropping an egg vertically will help prevent it from cracking in a classic school assignment

A Brood XIV cicada in 2008, the last time this group of the insects emerged

Watch for Cicadas: Billions From Brood XIV Will Soon Emerge After 17 Years Underground

The insects from this group were last seen in 2008 and will appear across the eastern U.S. for a brief, dramatic frenzy of mating and dying

Before the eruption, scientists saw a wide variety of ocean life around the Tica hydrothermal vent.

Scientists Stumbled Upon an Active Volcanic Eruption in a Mid-Ocean Ridge for the First Time Ever

From a research submersible, scientists saw hardened lava, dead tube worms and orange flashes from an eruption in the East Pacific Rise

A Yangtze finless porpoise appears to "smile" at the Baiji Dolphinarium at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Ancient Chinese Poems Reveal the Decline of a Critically Endangered Porpoise Over 1,400 Years

Researchers looked at poetry dating as far back as the Tang dynasty to find that the Yangtze finless porpoise’s range has decreased by 65 percent

A researcher swabs a frog. 

Scientists in Australia Mapped the Genome of an Endangered Frog Species in an Effort to Save It

A deadly fungus threatens the southern corroboree frog, which needs a lot of help to survive

The charismatic salamanders known as axolotls can survive in the wild despite being bred in captivity, according to a new study.

Captive-Bred Axolotls Can Survive in the Wild, Offering Hope for the Critically Endangered Amphibians

The popular salamanders are nearly extinct in the wild, where they are confined to a small system of canals in Mexico City. But a new study suggests released axolotls could thrive in their natural habitat as well as artificial wetlands

An artist's rendition of what Eos would look like from Earth if it were visible to the naked eye.

Astronomers Discover a Giant, Glowing Molecular Cloud Hidden in Earth’s Cosmic Neighborhood

The cloud, named Eos after the Greek goddess of dawn, had eluded researchers because it contains very little carbon monoxide

An artist's concept of K2-18b, the exoplanet at the center of the debate

A New Analysis Raises Doubts About Potential Hints of Life Recently Detected on a Distant Exoplanet

Astronomers published evidence of possible biosignatures on the planet K2-18b earlier this month, but another look at the data suggests the finding could be statistical noise

Two juvenile bonobos embrace in Lola Ya Bonobo Santuary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. New research suggests female bonobos form coalitions to gain or maintain power in their societies.

Female Bonobos Assert Their Dominance Over Males by Banding Together, New Study Suggests

Bonobos, which are among our closest living relatives, live in rare societies where females tend to outrank males, even though males are larger and stronger. Scientists compiled decades of observations to explain why

The 113-million-year-old fossil of Vulcanidris cratensis is the first known hell ant preserved in rock rather than amber.

Scientists Discover the Oldest Known Ant Fossil, a 113-Million-Year-Old ‘Hell Ant’ Preserved in Rock in Brazil

The odd-looking specimen with scythe-like jaws indicates that early ants were spread widely across the globe while dinosaurs still roamed

A newly developed A.I. model is based on 40 years of vocalizations from a community of Atlantic spotted dolphins.

Google Is Training a New A.I. Model to Decode Dolphin Chatter—and Potentially Talk Back

The company says its new model, called DolphinGemma, will be made open source this summer. Researchers are also trying to train dolphins to mimic made-up names for certain objects

Bleached coral on the Great Barrier Reef

The Worst Bleaching Event on Record Is Hitting Most of the World’s Coral Reefs

Scientists are alarmed by the ongoing crisis, with deteriorating conditions harming marine life in the tropics and beyond

An artist's impression of the Late Cretaceous crocodilian Deinosuchus riograndensis and a much smaller, early alligator relative.

The Ancient ‘Terror Crocodiles’ of North America Weren’t Alligators After All, DNA and Fossils Suggest

A new study indicates the giant reptile Deinosuchus is not a close relative of modern alligators, as scientists previously thought, and it might have thrived by tolerating saltwater

The asteroid Donaldjohanson, captured by NASA's Lucy spacecraft on Sunday. 

NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Just Flew by a Strange, Peanut-Shaped Asteroid. See the New Images From the Approach

The close-up views of asteroid Donaldjohanson are a preview of what’s to come for Lucy on its 12-year quest to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids

Human perception of color is regulated by three types of cone cells in the eye. By artificially stimulating just one type with a laser, researchers and study participants experienced a new color they call "olo."

Scientists Say They’ve Discovered a New Color—an ‘Unprecedented’ Hue Only Ever Seen by Five People

The color, dubbed olo, is described as an intensely saturated teal. Researchers say it might have applications in understanding color blindness

The Lyrid meteor shower coincided with a nearly full moon at its peak in 2024, seen here at Joshua Tree National Park. This year, conditions will be more favorable.

How to Watch the Lyrid Meteor Shower at Its Dazzling Peak

The annual spectacle, which is happening now, will last until around April 25—but the best viewing will fall between the 21 and 22

An artist's impression of K2-18b and its distant host star, visualized as if the planet had water and a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.

Chemical Hints on a Distant Planet Offer ‘Strongest Evidence Yet’ for Life Outside Our Solar System, Astronomers Say

The James Webb Space Telescope spotted possible signatures for life in an exoplanet’s atmosphere. Still, researchers caution it’s far too early to call the findings definitive

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