Sorcha McDonagh
All Stories by Sorcha McDonagh
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Animals
A bowerbird’s guide to style
To attract a mate, male bowerbirds go for a cheaper, low-key look instead of showy decorations.
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Agriculture
Protecting cows—and people—from a deadly disease
Mad cow disease has appeared in the United States, but scientists say it can be contained easily.
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Planets
Catching a Comet’s Tail
A closeup visit by a NASA spacecraft helps show how a comet gets its shape.
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Tech
A micro-dose of your own medicine
Medicine-delivering microchips implanted in the body could replace some injections and pills.
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Fossils
Did dinosaurs do handstands?
Enormous dinosaurs might have balanced on their front feet when wading in shallow water.
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Fossils
Watery fate for nature’s gliders
Fossil bones hint that sea-level increases doomed Atlantic albatross populations.
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Humans
The puzzle of ancient mariners
Prehistoric sailors may have traveled from island to island across the ocean.
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Humans
Of Lice and Old Clothes
The history of lice hints that people started wearing clothes regularly about 70,000 years ago.
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Tech
Tinkering With the Basic Bike
Turning a bicycle into a blender, and making it go faster and farther with less effort.
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Brain
The Social Side of Baby Talk
A mother's body language can make her baby's babbles more like speech.