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Surprising Science

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Nitpicking the Lice Genome to Track Humanity’s Past Footsteps

Lice DNA collected around the planet sheds light on the parasite’s long history with our ancestors, a new study shows

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Video: This Stretchable Battery Could Power the Next Generation of Wearable Gadgets

Durable and rechargeable, the new battery can be stretched to 300 percent of its size and still provide power

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Small Satellites—Some the Size of Postage Stamps—Are Transforming How Scientists Conduct Space-based Research

A new fleet of nanosatellites is zooming through space

High temperatures and high levels of humidity reduce the human body’s ability to do work.

Climate Change is Reducing Our Ability to Get Work Done

Increased temperature and humidity have already limited humankind’s overall capacity for physical work—and it will only get worse in the future

The human heart

Growing New Hearts Without Using Embryonic Stem Cells

A different type of stem cell—one used in asexual reproduction—can create new heart muscle tissue without raising ethical questions, new studies show

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What Damage Could Be Caused by a Massive Solar Storm?

An enormous solar storm could short out telecom satellites, radio communications, and power grids, leading to trillions of dollars in damages, experts say

Ice melt in Greenland will significantly affect water levels throughout the world, most of all the equatorial Pacific and South Africa.

Melting Polar Ice Will Spike Sea Levels at the Equator

Expect higher sea levels in the equatorial Pacific and lower ones near the poles by 2100, according to new research

One of the Cornell team’s prosthetic ears, created from living cartilage cells.

An Artificial Ear Built By a 3D Printer and Living Cartilage Cells

Cornell scientists used computerized scanning, 3D printers and cartilage from cows to create living prosthetic ears

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Some Mosquitoes Become Immune to DEET After Just a Few Hours of Exposure

A new study indicates that roughly half become habituated to the smell of DEET over time, reducing its effectiveness as a repellent

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Will the Next Lake-Effect Snowstorm be Severe? Ask Mountains Far Far Away

Scientists use computer simulations to test how geographic features help create intense snowstorms that blanket cities near lake shores with snow

The Opte Project creates visualizations of the 14 billion pages that make up the network of the web.

Any Two Pages on the Web Are Connected By 19 Clicks or Less

There are more than 14 billion pages on the web, but they are linked by hyperconnected nodes, like Hollywood actors connected through Kevin Bacon

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Parched Middle East Faces Severe Water Crisis

Drought and over-pumping has led to groundwater losses in the Middle East that equal almost the entire volume of the Dead Sea, a new study shows.

A new project examines how a warming climate will effect Canada’s tradition of backyard skating rinks.

Climate Change’s Latest Victim: Canada’s Outdoor Ice Rinks

A new project asks citizens to monitor their backyard rinks, helping to track how a warming climate is affecting Canada’s skating tradition

A study shows that wild perch are less fearful, eat faster and are more anti-social when exposed to a common pharmaceutical pollutant.

Flushing Your Anti-Anxiety Pills Down the Toilet Could Affect the Behavior of Wild Fish

A study shows that wild perch are less fearful, eat faster and are more anti-social when exposed to a common pharmaceutical pollutant

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Study Predicts Political Beliefs With 83 Percent Accuracy

Scans show that liberals and conservatives use different parts of the brain when they take risks, helping to pinpoint the political party a person prefers

Meet Indonesia’s New Owl Species

The new species of owl makes a distinctive “pwok” call and is unique to just one island in Indonesia

Two waved albatrosses, the only tropical albatross species, courting one another on the Galapagos Islands.

Is It Love? Why Some Ocean Animals (Sort Of) Mate For Life

A look at the mating systems of some monogamous ocean animals show that finding life partners helps species protect themselves and their young

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This Sea Slug Discards Its Penis After Sex and Grows Another

Chromodoris reticulata, native to the Pacific, engages in mating behavior previously unknown in the rest of the animal kingdom

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Trash Threatens Fragile Antarctic Environment

Decaying field huts, open pits of trash and oil-slicked beaches mar King George Island, a logistical hub for Antarctic research

A rendering of Asteroid 2012 DA14, which will pass within 17,200 miles of Earth’s surface.

An Asteroid Will Skim Right By the Earth on Friday Afternoon

The 147-foot-wide rock will pass a scant 17,200 miles from Earth’s surface, under the orbits of some telecom satellites

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