New Research

Bubbles of Plasma in Space May Have Cost U.S. Lives in Afghanistan

New analysis reveals that unusual space weather may have scrambled radio signals and sent a rescue mission awry

Americans See Scientists As Smart, But Not Trustworthy

Scientists, along with lawyers and engineers, are viewed as competent but lacking in warmth

Buck moth caterpillars are the bane of the New Orleans spring.

Caterpillars Beware: Venom Won’t Protect You From Clueless Baby Birds

Young birds will dumbly peck at anything that crawls their way—even if it winds up teaching them a painful lesson

How Conversations Around Campfire Might Have Shaped Human Cognition And Culture

We can perhaps thank campfire story time for getting us where we are today

Why We Shouldn't Worry About Growing Plants With Recycled Water

Trace amounts of common pharmaceuticals show up in crops grown with recycled water, but not as much as you'd think

Waking Up During Anesthesia Can Have Long-Lasting Effects

Half of people who reported waking up from anesthesia suffered lasting psychological trauma

A radioactive forest in Chernobyl.

The Risks of Fire Around Chernobyl

Radioactive forest litter that has accumulated for the past 28 years could fuel massive blazes in the future

Dreams Escalate in Weirdness As the Night Wears On

Early in the night our dreams are grounded in reality, but by the end, anything goes

A totally realistic portrayal of what it's like to slip on a banana peel.

The Physics of Slipping on a Banana Peel, And Other Weird, Ig Nobel Science

Banana peels may be the secret to better prosthetics

Even People With Locked-In Syndrome Respond to Hitchcock Movies

The brain of a patient in a vegetative state responded to a movie the same way as healthy people

Human Activities Aren't the Cause of Chimpanzees' Murderous Tendencies

A new study shows that humans are not responsible for murder amongst Chimpanzees

Artificial Sweeteners May Be Screwing Up How Your Body Handles Sugar

By affecting gut microbes, artificial sweeteners may be messing with your metabolism

The skeleton of Richard III

Richard III Suffered Severe Head Wounds in Battle

Analysis of the skeleton revels that he was likely not wearing a helmet when he died

We Evolved Unique Human Faces So We Could Tell One Another Apart

Human face shape is more variable than other parts of the body

Blood-sucking kissing bugs carry the parasite that causes Chagas disease, a malady that plagues some 9 million people in Latin America.

A Blood-Sucking Foe Lurks in Central American Caves

Kissing bugs, which can spread Chagas disease, turned up positive for human blood meals in caves in Guatemala and Belize

A carrion beetle fossil from the Cretaceous period.

Carrion Beetles Were the First Caring Parents

Flesh-eating beetles that lived 125 million years ago set the stage for modern parenting

A dead Chinese sturgeon found in the Yangtze in 2007

Chinese Sturgeon Is on the Brink of Extinction After 140 Million Years

Last year, the sturgeon didn’t reproduce at all in the wild

Schizophrenia Might Actually Be Eight Different Disorders

The finding could help researchers devise more effective treatments that are tailored for individual patients

The Average Prisoner Only Gets Two Visits While They Are Incarcerated

Prisoners who receive the most visitors, however, tend to do the best after they are released

The "skylight" appears as a light pink splotch atop this leatherback sea turtle's head.

Leatherback Sea Turtles Can Measure Sunlight Through Their Skulls

The anatomical skylight allows the turtles to synch up with the seasons

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