Life
- Planets
Planets with hydrogen skies could harbor life
Microbes can live in a hydrogen atmosphere. This points to new space worlds that host alien life.
- Animals
When prey get scarce, these jellies become cannibals
Invasive comb jellies may feast on their larvae if massive population booms in summer deplete their prey.
- Life
Scientists Say: Protein
Proteins are molecules made up of building blocks called amino acids. They play many key roles in the body’s cells and are essential for life.
- Chemistry
Ancient recipes helped scientists resurrect a long-lost blue hue
Led by medieval texts, scientists hunted down a plant and used its fruit to make a blue watercolor with mysterious origins.
- Animals
Traces from nuclear-weapons tests offer clues to whale sharks’ ages
Traces left by nuclear-bomb testing in the 1950s and ‘60s can help researchers learn how old a whale shark is.
- Animals
Let’s learn about domestic cats
Cats rule the internet — and many of our homes. To get here was a journey of many thousands of years.
- Fossils
The challenge of dinosaur hunting in deep caves
Spelunkers aren’t the only people to find caves interesting. So do paleontologists. Though getting to work may be harrowing, they find it’s worth it.
- Environment
Pesticides can have long-term impact on bumblebee learning
Pesticide-laced nectar and pollen can permanently harm the brains of baby bumblebees.
- Animals
Minecraft’s big bees don’t exist, but giant insects once did
Big bees buzz in Minecraft. In our world, blocky bees might starve and be stuck on the ground. Yet long ago, giant insects did roam our planet.
- Microbes
Scientists Say: Amoeba
Amoebas are single-celled microbes that move and eat with shape-shifting bulges that extend from their cells. Some are blobs. Others build a shell.
- Animals
Mice show their feelings on their faces
Pleasure, pain, fear and disgust — all can show on a mouse’s face. As computational analyses show, you just need to know what to look for.
- Materials Science
This ‘living’ concrete slurps up a greenhouse gas
Microbes help harden a mix of sand and gelatin into a living concrete that could interact with people and the environment in great new ways.
