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New Research

New Research

Arctic Ice Is Retreating and Reindeer Are Going With It

Herds in Canada, the U.S. and Russia have dropped by over half in 20 years—and some may not recover

New Research

A City Frog’s Love Song Attracts More Mates Than Countryside Croaks

Fewer predators and heightened competition for mates allowed urban tungara frogs to add more notes and frills to their calls, with big results Read more: h

Cool Finds

Fruit Flies First Began Feeding on Our Fresh Produce About 10,000 Years Ago

It turns out the insects love marula fruit found in south-central Africa, which attracted them to human caves

New Research

Satellite Data Detects Hundreds of New Sources of Ammonia Pollution

Detailed data shows livestock operations and fertilizers plants are major sources of the pollutant

Lonesome George

New Research

Lonesome George the Giant Tortoise’s DNA Reveals Cancer-Fighting and Longevity Genes

The iconic reptile and last Pinta Island tortoise passed in 2012, but a new look at his DNA is helping researchers understand genetics

New Research

No, Wait, This Is the Real Ava, a Bronze Age Woman From the Scottish Highlands

New DNA evidence drastically changes the image of the young woman buried in Caithness 4,250 years ago

New Research

Evidence Suggests Humans Reached “Roof of the World” 40,000 Years Ago

Over 3,000 stone tools show human presence in Tibetan plateau 20,000 years before previously thought

Dads Also Pass on Mitochondrial DNA, Contrary to Long-Standing Belief

A new study, which found paternal mitochondrial DNA in 17 individuals, upends the commonly accepted theory that mtDNA comes exclusively from the mother

Extragalactic Background Light

New Research

This Is How Much Starlight the Universe Has Produced

4,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 photons over 13.7 billion years

Meet your new zombie overlord.

Cool Finds

These Wasps Hijack Spiders’ Brains And Make Them Do Their Bidding

Larvae of the newly discovered species in Ecuador hijacks the spider to build a super-tough incubation chamber

Artist’s impression of Elasmotherium.

Modern Humans Emerged As Ancient ‘Siberian Unicorns’ Died Out—But Their Demise Wasn’t Our Fault

A new study has found that the ancient rhinoceros went extinct 39,000 years ago—not 100,000 years ago, as experts previously believed

New Research

Could a Freeze-Dried Vaccine Spell the End of Polio Worldwide Forever?

The vaccine does not require refrigeration, meaning aid workers could get it to children in hard-to-reach regions of the world. So far, it works in mice.

New Research

It Takes 1.71 Days to Poop Out a Lego

Six intrepid volunteers swallowed the heads of LEGO figurines for the unusual study

Cool Finds

Early Mammals Were Thought to Be Small and Unseen in the Age of Dinosaurs. An Elephant-Sized Fossil Complicates That Story

At a time when proto-mammals and other creatures were getting smaller, this dicynodont bulked up with the thunder lizards

Whales Change Their Tune Every Few Years

After becoming increasingly complex over a period of years, the songs are ditched in favor of simpler ditties, a new study has found

Lasius niger queen and worker ants each got their own individual two-dimensional barcode tags. The tags allowed researchers to track their movement in the colony.

Ants Take Sick Days, Too

A new study has found that when some members of the colony are exposed to pathogens, they spend less time in the nest

New Research

Brown Recluse Silk Is Stronger Than Steel Because It’s Constructed Like a Cable

Thousands of nanotendrils come together to form the flat, super-strong spider silk

New Research

Why Wombats Make Cube-Shaped Poos

New research shows differences in elasticity in the intestines shapes the poo as it moves through

Promising Peanut Allergy Treatment Could Become Available in the Near Future

A new study has found that gradually exposing children to peanut protein could increase their tolerance—though the treatment does not offer a complete cure

But First, Coffee—Unless You Are Genetically Disposed to Prefer Tea

Genetic variants that affect our sensitivity to certain bitter substances could play a part in determining our brew of choice, according to a new study

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