All Stories
- Tech
Did builders of Egypt’s first pyramid use a water-powered elevator?
A controversial study suggests that ancient people might have used one to hoist the stones used to assemble into King Djoser’s pyramid.
- Space
Here’s why some shooting stars have long-lasting afterglows
Atmospheric chemistry is the most important factor in determining which meteors leave behind these persistent trails.
- Space
Summer ‘space hurricanes’ are emerging high above Earth’s magnetic poles
A separation — and later recombining — of Earth’s magnetic field lines may be what churns up these super-high-altitude storms of plasma.
- Climate
Stashing more CO2 in the ocean could slow climate change
More research is needed on ways to safely remove some CO2 from the water to make room for more — such as by seaweed farming and iron fertilization.
- Humans
Peripheral vision and what we can see in the dark
The differences between the rods and cones in our eyes explain why objects seem to vanish in the dark when we look at them.
- Archaeology
Analyze This: Human brains can last thousands of years
Ancient brains may not be rare finds. An analysis of over 4,000 preserved human brains reveals five processes that protect against decay.
- Space
Scientists Say: Cosmic rays
These energy-packed particles come to us from the farthest reaches of outer space.
- Animals
The last woolly mammoths offer new clues to why this species died out
The last woolly mammoth herd experienced a drop in genetic variation. But this is likely not what doomed these majestic beasts to extinction, new data suggest.
- Animals
Metal gives the teeth of Komodo dragons their super strength
Investigating Komodo dragons' ironclad teeth in greater detail could also help solve a dental mystery in dinosaurs.
- Planets
Here are 5 exoplanet mysteries the James Webb telescope could help solve
This space telescope could reveal much about the formation, makeup and evolution of distant exoplanets.
- Plants
Many flowers and ferns lure in ants as bodyguards
With an offer of a nectar meal, ferns and flowering plants have been bribing ants to fend off predatory insects — since before the rise of T. rex.
- Tech
Robotics might someday give us an extra hand
We could control a bonus limb with the movements of our diaphragm.
