60-Second Science

Young Great White Sharks Eat Off the Floor

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 02:33:00 GMT

The stomach contests of young great white sharks showed that they spend a lot of time patrolling the sea floor for meals.

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Tweets Reveal Politics of COVID-19

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 23:30:00 GMT

Political scientists analyzed congressional tweets and observed how Republicans and Democrats responded differently to the virus. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Nature's Goods and Services Get Priced

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 04:00:00 GMT

The gross ecosystem product, or GEP, tries to take into account the contribution of nature to the economy.

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Animal Migrations Track Climate Change

Tue, 30 Jun 2020 02:41:00 GMT

Many species are known to have changed their migration routes in response to the changing climate, now including mule deer and Bewick's swans.

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Science Briefs from around the World

Thu, 25 Jun 2020 01:47:00 GMT

Here are some brief reports about science and technology from around the planet, including one about a 70-million-year-old mollusk fossil that reveals years back then had a few more days than we have now.

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Stiffer Roads Could Drive Down Carbon Emissions

Sat, 20 Jun 2020 00:20:00 GMT

By hardening the nation's streets and highways, trucks would use less fuel and spare the planet carbon emissions. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Unicorns of the Sea Reveal Sound Activities

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 02:49:00 GMT

Narwhals, recognizable by their large single tusk, make distinct sounds that are now being analyzed in depth by researchers.

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Human Speech Evolution Gets Lip-Smacking Evidence

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 01:39:00 GMT

A study of our closest evolutionary relatives finds that the chimp behavior known as lip smacking occurs in the same timing range as human mouths during speech.

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Printed Coral Could Provide Reef Relief

Tue, 16 Jun 2020 04:17:00 GMT

Three-dimensional printed coral-like structures were able to support the algae that live in real corals, which could help restore reefs and grow algae for bioenergy production.

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'Snot Palaces' Reveal Undersea Creature Secrets

Fri, 12 Jun 2020 04:30:00 GMT

Scientists are studying the delicate mucus houses built by creatures called larvaceans to better understand how they live. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Helping Kids Cope with COVID-19 Worries

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 01:15:00 GMT

The psychological state of children may need special attention during COVID-19 impacts and isolation.

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Ancient DNA Rewrites Dead Sea Scroll History

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 04:45:00 GMT

By sequencing DNA from the dust of dead sea scrolls, scientists were able to glean new clues about the ancient manuscripts. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Whale Protections Need Not Cause Lobstering Losses

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 00:55:00 GMT

Right whales, other whales and turtles get caught in lobster trap lines, but fewer lines can maintain the same lobster catch levels.

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How to Keep COVID-19 Conspiracies Contained

Sun, 07 Jun 2020 00:53:00 GMT

An expert on climate denial offers tips for inoculating people against coronavirus conspiracy notions.

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Bioluminescence Helps Prey Avoid Hungry Seals

Wed, 03 Jun 2020 01:49:00 GMT

Prey animals flash biochemically produced light to confuse elephant seals hunting in the dark. But at least one seal turned the tables.

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3 Words Mislead Online Regional Mood Analysis

Tue, 02 Jun 2020 01:18:00 GMT

Analyzing keywords on Twitter can offer a loose measure of the subjective well-being of a community, as long as you don't count three words: good, love and LOL.

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COVID Has Changed Soundscapes Worldwide

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 03:00:00 GMT

The Silent Cities project is collecting sound from cities around the planet during the coronavirus pandemic to give researchers a database of natural sound in areas usually filled with human-generated noise.

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Science News Briefs from All Over

Thu, 28 May 2020 20:52:00 GMT

Here are some brief reports about science and technology from around the planet, including one about an incredibly well-preserved horned lark ( Eremophila alpestris ), like the one pictured, that lived 46,000 years ago.

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Colorful Corals Beat Bleaching

Thu, 28 May 2020 01:30:00 GMT

Exposed to mildly warmer waters, some corals turn neon instead of bleaching white. The dramatic colors may help coax symbiotic algae back. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Skinny Genes Tell Fat to Burn

Sat, 23 May 2020 02:30:00 GMT

A gene whose mutated form is associated with cancer in humans turns out to have a role in burning calories over a long evolutionary history.

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Malaria Mosquitoes Are Biting before Bed-Net Time

Fri, 22 May 2020 00:12:00 GMT

Mosquitoes that like to bite at night are being thwarted by bed nets, leading to the rise of populations that prefer to bite when the nets are not up yet.

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We're Being Tested

Fri, 15 May 2020 16:22:00 GMT

President Trump pointed out yesterday that if we didn't do any testing for the virus we would have very few cases, which forces us to confront the issues posed by testing in general.

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Barn Owl Babies Can Be Helpful Hatch Mates

Fri, 15 May 2020 00:13:00 GMT

Food sharing is mainly found in adult animals as a part of social bonding. But in a rarely observed behavior in birds, older barn owl chicks will share food with younger ones.

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Donut Sugar Could Help Stored Blood Last

Wed, 13 May 2020 01:14:00 GMT

Dehydrated blood that could be kept at room temperature for years may be possible thanks to a sugar used to preserve donuts—and made by tardigrades and brine shrimp so they can dry out and spring back with water.

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Lemur Flirting Uses Common Scents

Mon, 11 May 2020 23:46:00 GMT

To entice female ring-tailed lemurs, males rub wrist secretions, which include compounds we use in perfumes, onto their tail and then wave it near the gals.

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Flamingos Can Be Picky about Company

Fri, 08 May 2020 01:58:00 GMT

They don't stand on one leg around just anybody but often prefer certain members of the flock.

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Horses Recognize Pics of Their Keepers

Wed, 06 May 2020 02:28:00 GMT

Horses picked out photographs of their current keepers, and even of former keepers whom they had not seen in months, at a rate much better than chance.

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Tapirs Help Reforestation via Defecation

Sat, 02 May 2020 02:03:00 GMT

The large herbivores appear to prefer disturbed areas over more intact ones and spread many more seeds in those places through their droppings.

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Virus-Infected Bees Practice Social Distancing

Fri, 01 May 2020 00:56:00 GMT

Bees infected with a virus cut back on interactions within their hive but find it easier to get past sentries at neighboring hives.

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New Data on Killer House Cats

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 02:20:00 GMT

Wild cats kill more animals than domestic ones do. But pet cats kill many more of them in a small area than similarly sized wild predators.

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Science News Briefs from around the World

Wed, 29 Apr 2020 01:46:00 GMT

Here are a few brief reports about science and technology from around the planet, including one about what the eruption of Mount Vesuvius might have done to one ill-fated resident of Herculaneum.

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Birds on Rhinos' Back Help Them Avoid Poachers

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 21:22:00 GMT

Oxpeckers riding on rhinoceroses feast on ticks, and their calls warn the nearsighted herbivores about approaching humans.

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Jane Goodall: We Can Learn from This Pandemic

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 00:28:00 GMT

In a teleconference promoting her participation in Earth Day events on the National Geographic Channel, Goodall talked about what gives her hope during the pandemic and what she hopes we all learn from it.

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Our 3,000th Episode

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 18:19:00 GMT

Here are some “highlights” from the past 13.5 years of this podcast.

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How Herbivore Herds Might Help Permafrost

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 21:22:00 GMT

Introducing herds of large herbivores in the Arctic would disturb surface snow, allowing cold air to reach the ground and keep the permafrost frosty.

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Lung Cancer Screen Could Be Easy Pee-sy

Thu, 16 Apr 2020 04:18:00 GMT

In mice, a test for lung cancer involves nanoprobes that recognize tumors and send reporter molecules into the urine for simple analysis.

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Obama Talks Some Science Policy

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 04:10:00 GMT

As he endorsed Joe Biden today, former president Barack Obama touched on some environmental, economic and science matters.

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Red-Winged Blackbirds Understand Yellow Warbler Alarms

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 01:37:00 GMT

Researchers studying yellow warbler responses to the parasitic cowbird realized that red-winged blackbirds were eavesdropping on the calls and reacting to them, too.

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Waiter, What's This Worm Doing in My Sushi?

Fri, 10 Apr 2020 21:48:00 GMT

Well, it's probably there because the odds on its presence have gone way up in the past 40 years. But such parasites are still much more of a health problem for whales and dolphins than they are for us.

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What's a Narwhal's Tusk For?

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 19:00:00 GMT

Although the tusk can be a weapon, the variation in tusk length among animals of similar body size points to it being primarily a mating status signal.

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Coronavirus Misinformation Is Its Own Deadly Condition

Wed, 08 Apr 2020 02:40:00 GMT

Pulitzer-winning Laurie Garrett, author of The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance, talks about the dangers of politicians offering coronavirus misinformation.

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Coronavirus Can Infect Cats

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 04:47:00 GMT

Tigers and lions at the Bronx Zoo have tested positive for the virus, and studies show that house cats—but apparently not dogs—can become infected.

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Squid's Glowing Skin Patterns May Be Code

Fri, 03 Apr 2020 02:40:00 GMT

Humboldt squid can rapidly change the pigmentation and luminescence patterns on their skin by contracting and relaxing their muscles, possibly to communicate.

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Bird Fossil Shared Earth with T. rex

Thu, 02 Apr 2020 04:36:00 GMT

Dating back 67 million years, this representative of the group of modern birds has been dubbed the Wonderchicken (which is not an April Fools' Day joke).

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City Birds: Big-Brained with Few Offspring or Small-Brained with a Lot

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 03:46:00 GMT

To make it in urban areas, birds tend to be either large-brained and able to produce few offspring or small-brained and extremely fertile. In natural habitats, most birds brains are of average size.

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Coyotes Eat Everything from Fruits to Cats

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 03:23:00 GMT

The diets of coyotes vary widely, depending on whether they live in rural, suburban or urban environments—but pretty much anything is fair game.

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Tiny Wormlike Creature May Be Our Oldest Known Ancestor

Mon, 30 Mar 2020 00:10:00 GMT

The bilateral organism crawled on the seafloor, taking in organic matter at one end and dumping the remains out the other some 555 million years ago.

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Science News Briefs from around the Planet

Sun, 29 Mar 2020 04:23:00 GMT

Here are a few brief reports about science and technology from around the planet, including one about the discovery of an intact chicken egg dating to Roman Britain.

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Help Researchers Track COVID-19

Fri, 27 Mar 2020 00:04:00 GMT

By entering your health status, even if you're feeling fine, at the Web site COVID Near You, you can help researchers develop a nationwide look at where hotspots of coronavirus are occurring.

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Sick Vampire Bats Restrict Grooming to Close Family

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 04:15:00 GMT

When vampire bats feel sick, they still engage in prosocial acts such as sharing food with nonrelatives. But they cut back on grooming anyone other than their closest kin.

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Exponential Infection Increases Are Deadly Serious

Wed, 25 Mar 2020 04:15:00 GMT

Listen in as I use two calculators to track the difference in numbers of infections over a short period of time, depending on how many people each infected individual infects on average.

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Swamp Wallaby Reproduction Give Tribbles a Run

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 01:55:00 GMT

They're not born pregnant like tribbles, but swamp wallabies routinely get pregnant while pregnant.

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Ocean Plastic Smells Great to Sea Turtles

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 01:25:00 GMT

Ocean plastic gets covered with algae and other marine organisms, making it smell delicious to sea turtles—with potentially deadly results.

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Ancient Clam Shell Reveals Shorter Day Length

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 21:24:00 GMT

The growth layers in a 70-million-year-old clam shell indicate that a year back then had more than 370 days, with each day being only about 23.5 hours.

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Snapping Shrimp Make More Noise in Warmer Oceans

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 03:13:00 GMT

As oceans heat up, the ubiquitous noise of snapping shrimp should increase, posing issues for other species and human seagoing ventures.

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Stress from Undersea Noise Interferes with Crab Camouflage

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 03:30:00 GMT

In an example of how sea noise can harm species, exposed shore crabs changed camouflaging color sluggishly and were slower to flee from simulated predators.

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Indigenous Amazonians Managed Valuable Plant Life

Wed, 04 Mar 2020 14:00:00 GMT

Studies on very old vegetation in the Amazon basin show active management hundreds of years ago on species such as Brazil nut and cocoa trees.

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Computers Confirm Beethoven's Influence

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 14:00:00 GMT

By breaking 900 classical piano compositions into musical chunks, researchers could track Ludwig van Beethoven's influence on the composers who followed him. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Science News Briefs from around the World

Mon, 02 Mar 2020 23:35:00 GMT

Here are a few brief reports about science and technology from around the world, including one from off the California coast about the first heart rate measurement done on a blue whale.

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Jet Altitude Changes Cut Climate-Changing Contrails

Wed, 26 Feb 2020 01:52:00 GMT

Increasing or decreasing the altitude of aircraft by a few thousand feet to avoid thin layers of humidity could make a major reduction to contrails' contribution to climate change.

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Thoroughbred Horses Are Increasingly Inbred

Tue, 25 Feb 2020 01:08:00 GMT

Inbreeding in Thoroughbreds has increased significantly in the past 45 years, with the greatest rise occurring in the past 15 or so of them.

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Pablo Escobar's Hippos Could Endanger Colombian Ecology

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 21:13:00 GMT

Hippos that escaped from drug kingpin Pablo Escobar's private zoo are reproducing in the wild. And with increasing numbers, they could threaten ecosystems.

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Wasp Nests Help Date Aboriginal Art

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 03:37:00 GMT

Art created by Australian Aboriginal people used organic carbon-free pigments, but wasp nests above or below the art can be used for radiocarbon dating that supplies boundaries for the age of artworks.

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Industrial Revolution Pollution Found in Himalayan Glacier

Tue, 18 Feb 2020 22:40:00 GMT

Ice cores from a Tibetan glacier reveal the first deposits of industrial revolution pollution, starting in layers dated to about 1780.

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Fight-or-Flight Nerves Make Mice Go Gray

Sat, 15 Feb 2020 15:45:00 GMT

A new study in mice concludes stress can cause gray hair—and credits overactive nerves with the change in hue. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Espresso May Be Better when Ground Coarser

Fri, 14 Feb 2020 02:00:00 GMT

A very fine grind can actually hamper espresso brewing, because particles may clump more than larger particles will.

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Feral Dogs Respond to Human Hand Cues

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 18:26:00 GMT

Most feral dogs that did not run away from humans were able to respond to hand cues about the location of food—even without training.

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Neandertals Tooled Around with Clams

Sat, 08 Feb 2020 01:44:00 GMT

Neandertals ate clams and then modified the hard shells into tools for cutting and scraping.

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Fingering Fake Whiskeys with Isotopes

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 03:38:00 GMT

Whiskeys claimed to be from the 19th century are revealed to be made with much more recently grown barley, thanks to the unique isotopic fingerprint of the nuclear-testing era.

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Having an Albatross around Your Boat

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 02:45:00 GMT

By outfitting 169 albatrosses with GPS data loggers, scientists were able to track fishing boats apparently trying to hide their location. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Science News Briefs from All Over

Tue, 04 Feb 2020 01:32:00 GMT

Here are a few brief reports about international science and technology from around the world, including one from the Democratic Republic of the Congo about a toad that has evolved coloring that makes it look like a deadly snake's head.

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Facts about Groundhogs Other Than Their Poor Meteorology

Sun, 02 Feb 2020 17:00:00 GMT

Groundhogs are less accurate at weather forecasting than are coin flips, but they are nonetheless pretty interesting critters.

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Did Animal Calls Start in the Dark?

Sat, 01 Feb 2020 17:22:00 GMT

One hypothesis says the ability to vocalize arose in nocturnal animals—and a new evolutionary analysis suggests there may be some truth to it. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Sign Languages Display Distinct Ancestries

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 04:33:00 GMT

Well more than 100 distinct sign languages exist worldwide, with each having features that made it possible for researchers to create an evolutionary tree of their lineages.

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Docs Given Updated Opioid Prescribing Habit

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 04:30:00 GMT

Researchers dialed down the default number of opioids in two hospitals' prescription systems—and doctors ended up prescribing fewer pills. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Some Wolf Pups Show Innate Fetching Talent

Sun, 26 Jan 2020 02:27:00 GMT

Some wolf pups will play fetch with a stranger, suggesting that an ability to playfully interact with people could have come before, and played a role in, dog domestication.

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Barred Owls Invade the Sierra Nevada

Sat, 25 Jan 2020 02:30:00 GMT

By listening to the sounds of the forest, biologists were able to identify an invasion of barred owls in spotted owl habitat. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Curiosity Killed the ... Mouse?

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 04:50:00 GMT

The cat parasite Toxoplasma gondii boosts curiosity in mice—which makes them more likely to be caught by cats, thus continuing the parasite's life cycle. Karen Hopkin reports.

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This Fish Knows How to Stick Around

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 17:20:00 GMT

The remora clings to other fish—and appears to use an unusual sense of touch to do so. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Antarctic Is Ripe for Invasive Species

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Mussels and crabs are two of the creatures most likely to invade Antarctica in the next 10 years, a panel of scientists say. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Bacteria Helped Plants Evolve to Live on Land

Tue, 14 Jan 2020 20:00:00 GMT

Soil bacteria may have taken residence in early algal species, gifting the algae with the ability to withstand drier conditions on land. Annie Sneed reports.

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Meteorite Contains Material Older Than Earth

Mon, 13 Jan 2020 20:01:00 GMT

The Murchison meteorite, which screamed to Earth 50 years ago, carried with it stardust that's seven billion years old. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Loss of Large Mammals Stamps Out Invertebrates, Too

Sun, 12 Jan 2020 23:28:00 GMT

Hunted areas of Gabon have fewer large mammals and a thicker forest understory—but they also have fewer termites. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Brittle Stars Can "See" without Eyes

Fri, 10 Jan 2020 04:32:00 GMT

The starfish relatives can recognize patterns using photoreceptors on their arms—and their color-changing abilities could have something to do with it. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Atlantic Puffins Spotted Using Tools

Wed, 08 Jan 2020 03:45:00 GMT

Scientists observed two Atlantic puffins using sticks to scratch themselves—the first known instance of seabirds using tools. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Traffic Cameras Show Why the Yankees Should Suffer Fewer Injuries in 2020

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 03:31:00 GMT

The 2019 New York Yankees' record number of injuries led to a change in training staff that will almost certainly correlate with, but not necessarily cause, a lower injury rate this coming season.

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Science News Briefs from around the Globe

Mon, 06 Jan 2020 00:41:00 GMT

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Indonesia to Spain, including one from Brazil about the highest-voltage electric eel ever discovered.

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Part of Real Paleo Diet: It's a Tuber

Sat, 04 Jan 2020 04:45:00 GMT

In South Africa archaeologists found the charred remains of a roasted root vegetable. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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You Traveled Far in 2019

Fri, 03 Jan 2020 04:08:00 GMT

Getting around the sun last year was some trip.

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Fido's Human Age Gets New Estimates

Fri, 27 Dec 2019 17:51:00 GMT

By comparing how DNA gets altered over the lifetimes of people and dogs, researchers came up with a new way to compare canine years with human years.

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Gift Wrapping Is Effective Future Trash

Fri, 27 Dec 2019 01:40:00 GMT

Research suggests people value gifts more when they have to unwrap them. But how do we avoid all the wasted paper? Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Superstrong Fibers Could Be Hairy Situation

Wed, 25 Dec 2019 02:30:00 GMT

Human hair tested stronger than thicker fibers from elephants, boars and giraffes, providing clues to materials scientists hoping to make superstrong synthetic fibers.

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Flaky Scalps Have a Unique Fungal Microbiome

Sat, 21 Dec 2019 03:40:00 GMT

Certain species of bacteria and fungi seem to proliferate on dandruff-ridden scalps. The reason is a little more mysterious. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Moths Flee or Face Bats, Depending on Toxicity

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 22:36:00 GMT

Tiger moth species that contain bad-tasting and toxic compounds are nonchalant in the presence of bats, while edible moth species evade their predators.

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Ancient Seawall Found Submerged

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 04:00:00 GMT

In shallow waters off the coast of Israel, archaeologists have found entire villages—including one with a sunken seawall. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Citizen Scientists Deserve Journal Status Upgrade

Sun, 15 Dec 2019 03:24:00 GMT

Here's an argument that citizen scientists deserve co-authorship on scientific journal papers to which they contributed research.

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Not All Hydropower Is Climate-Considerate

Sat, 14 Dec 2019 03:17:00 GMT

While some hydropower facilities release almost no greenhouse gases, others can actually be worse than burning fossil fuels.

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Certain Zip Codes Pick Losers

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 23:10:00 GMT

People in certain zip codes are more likely to purchase products that flop, buy homes that are poor investments and pick political candidates who lose. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Linguists Hear an Accent Begin

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 01:33:00 GMT

Residents of an overwintering station in Antarctica provided linguists with evidence of the first small changes in speech that may signal the development of a new accent.

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Romans Would Roam for Wood

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 20:40:00 GMT

Archaeologists unearthed wood from a Roman villa when digging Rome's subway—and scientists determined the planks came all the way from France. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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When the Bellbird Calls, You Know It

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 02:33:00 GMT

The white bellbird of the Amazon may be the loudest bird in the world.

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Fishy Trick Lures Life Back to Coral Reefs

Thu, 05 Dec 2019 23:45:00 GMT

Playing the sounds of a healthy reef near damaged corals may help bring the fish community back. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Rain Forest Dwellers and Urbanites Have Consistently Different Microbiomes

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 23:56:00 GMT

A study done in South America found that with increasing population density, humans had more diversity of fungi on the skin but less microbial diversity in the gut.

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Internet Cables Could Also Measure Quakes

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:15:00 GMT

The fiber-optic cables that connect the global Internet could potentially be used as seismic sensors. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Science News Briefs from All Over

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 00:49:00 GMT

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Mexico to Tanzania, including one about the need to quarantine bananas in Colombia that are potentially infected by a fungus.

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Subtle Ancient Footprints Come to Light

Sat, 30 Nov 2019 02:55:00 GMT

Ground-penetrating radar can detect tiny density differences that lead to images of ancient footprints impossible to discern by eye.

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Ancient Rock Art Got a Boost From Bacteria

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 13:00:00 GMT

Indigenous artists in what's now British Columbia created pigments by cooking aquatic bacteria. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Ick Factor Is High Hurdle for Recycled Drinking Water

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 01:13:00 GMT

Recycled wastewater can be cleaner than bottled water, but people still avoid drinking it because of their disgust over its past condition.

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Bots Outperform Humans if They Impersonate Us

Fri, 22 Nov 2019 01:31:00 GMT

Bots masquerading as humans in a game outperformed their human opponents—but the their superiority vanished when their machine identity was revealed. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Implanting Memories in Birds Reveals How Learning Happens

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 01:41:00 GMT

Researchers activated specific brain cells in zebra finches to teach them songs they'd ordinarily have to hear to learn.

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Dogs Like Motion That Matches Sound

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 03:30:00 GMT

Pet dogs appeared more interested in videos of a bouncing ball when the motion of the ball matched a rising and falling tone. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Egyptian Vats 5,600 Years Old Were For Beer Brewing

Sun, 17 Nov 2019 03:00:00 GMT

Archaeologists working in the ancient city of Hierakonpolis discovered five ceramic vats containing residues consistent with brewing beer.

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Famously Fickle Felines Are, in Fact, Clingy

Thu, 14 Nov 2019 04:45:00 GMT

Cats are clingier to their human owners than their reputation would suggest. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Aversion to Broccoli May Have Genetic Roots

Wed, 13 Nov 2019 00:30:00 GMT

Study subjects with a gene variant that heightened their sensitivity to bitterness tended to eat fewer vegetables than people who didn't mind bitter flavors. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Marine Mammal Epidemic Linked to Climate Change

Sun, 10 Nov 2019 02:00:00 GMT

A measleslike virus is ricocheting through marine mammal populations in the Arctic—and melting sea ice might be to blame. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Ant Colonies Avoid Traffic Jams

Fri, 08 Nov 2019 03:34:00 GMT

Researchers tracked thousands of individual ants to determine how they move in vast numbers without stumbling into gridlock.

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Ranking Rise May Intimidate Opponents

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 21:34:00 GMT

In an analysis of chess and tennis matches, players rising in the rankings did better than expected against higher-ranked opponents and better than similarly ranked players who were not rising.

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Familiar Tunes Rapidly Jog the Brain

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 02:00:00 GMT

Within just a third of a second of hearing a snippet of a familiar refrain, our pupils dilate, and the brain shows signs of recognition. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Science News Briefs from around the Globe

Sat, 02 Nov 2019 00:23:00 GMT

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Brazil to Hong Kong, including one about male elephants in India exhibiting unusual social behaviors.

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We Owe Our Pumpkins to Pooping Megafauna

Thu, 31 Oct 2019 19:10:00 GMT

The pumpkin's ancestor was an incredibly bitter, tennis-ball-sized squash—but it was apparently a common snack for mastodons. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Bird Egg Colors Are Influenced by Local Climate

Wed, 30 Oct 2019 04:10:00 GMT

In cold, northern climates, eggs tend to be darker and browner—heat-trapping colors that allow parents to spend a bit more time away from the nest. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Crabs Do a Maze

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 04:00:00 GMT

Green crabs learned to navigate a maze without making a single wrong turn—and remembered the skill weeks later. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Odd Bird Migrates Twice to Breed

Thu, 24 Oct 2019 19:44:00 GMT

The phainopepla migrates from southern California to the desert Southwest to breed in the spring before flying to California coastal woodlands to do so again in summer.

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Piranha-Proof Fish Gives Inspiration for Body Armor

Thu, 24 Oct 2019 00:53:00 GMT

A gigantic fish from the Amazon has incredibly tough scales—and materials scientists are looking to them for bulletproof inspiration. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Galloping Ant Beats Saharan Heat

Wed, 23 Oct 2019 00:15:00 GMT

The Saharan silver ant feeds on other insects that have died on the hot sands, which it traverses at breakneck (for an ant) speeds.

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Some Mosquito Repellents Act like Invisibility Cloaks

Tue, 22 Oct 2019 01:45:00 GMT

Synthetic repellents such as DEET seem to mask the scent of our “human perfume”—making us less obvious targets for mosquitoes. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Your Skull Shapes Your Hearing

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 04:15:00 GMT

The resonant properties of your skull can amplify some frequencies and dampen others—and, in some cases, affect your hearing. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Tardigrade Protein Protects DNA from Chemical Attack

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 16:39:00 GMT

The Dsup protein protects DNA under conditions that create caustic free radical chemicals.

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"Mars-quakes" Could Reveal How Mars Was Built

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 00:15:00 GMT

Rumblings on the Red Planet act like x-rays, allowing scientists to probe the hidden interior of Mars. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Artificial Intelligence Learns to Talk Back to Bigots

Fri, 11 Oct 2019 00:50:00 GMT

Algorithms are already used to remove online hate speech. Now scientists have taught an AI to respond—which they hope might spark more discourse. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Nobel in Chemistry for Lightweight Rechargeable Batteries

Wed, 09 Oct 2019 11:45:00 GMT

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to John Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino “for the development of lithium-ion batteries.”

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Nobel in Physics for Exoplanets and Cosmology

Tue, 08 Oct 2019 13:31:00 GMT

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to James Peebles “for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology” and to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz “for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.”

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Nobel in Physiology or Medicine for How Cells Sense Oxygen Levels

Mon, 07 Oct 2019 11:54:00 GMT

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to William G. Kaelin, Jr., Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza “for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.” They identified molecular machinery that regulates gene activity in response to changing levels of oxygen.

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Teeth Tell Black Death Genetic Tale

Mon, 07 Oct 2019 04:45:00 GMT

DNA from the teeth of medieval plague victims indicates the pathogen likely first arrived in eastern Europe before spreading across the continent.

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Tiny Worms Are Equipped to Battle Extreme Environments

Sat, 05 Oct 2019 20:20:00 GMT

Scientists found eight species of nematodes living in California's harsh Mono Lake—quintupling the number of animals known to live there. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Heat Changes Insect Call, but It Still Works

Wed, 02 Oct 2019 16:35:00 GMT

Tiny insects called treehoppers produce very different mating songs at higher versus lower temperatures, but the intended recipient still finds the changed songs attractive.

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Corals Can Inherit Symbiotic Adaptations to Warming

Wed, 02 Oct 2019 01:00:00 GMT

Adult corals can reshuffle their symbiotic algae species to adapt to warming waters—and, it appears they can pass those adaptations on. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Brains of Blind People Adapt in Similar Fashion

Tue, 01 Oct 2019 00:53:00 GMT

The brains of those who are blind repurpose the vision regions for adaptive hearing, and they appear to do so in a consistent way.

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Science News Briefs from around the World

Sun, 29 Sep 2019 20:44:00 GMT

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Hungary to Japan, including one about a wine grape in France that DNA testing shows has been cultivated for almost a millennium.

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Musical Note Perception Can Depend on Culture

Wed, 25 Sep 2019 20:57:00 GMT

Western ears consider a pitch at double the frequency of a lower pitch to be the same note, an octave higher. The Tsimane', an indigenous people in the Bolivian Amazon basin, do not.

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Nature Docs Avoid Habitat Destruction

Wed, 25 Sep 2019 02:15:00 GMT

BBC and Netflix nature documentaries consistently shy away from showing viewers the true extent to which we've damaged the planet. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Heat Loss to Night Sky Powers Off-Grid Lights

Thu, 19 Sep 2019 16:18:00 GMT

A slight temperature difference at night between a surface losing heat and the surrounding air can be harnessed to generate electricity to power lights.

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Early Butchers Used Small Stone Scalpels

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 16:00:00 GMT

Homo erectus used hand axes to butcher elephants and other game. But a new study suggests they also used finer, more sophisticated blades. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Microplastics in Fresh Water Are Mostly Laundry Lint

Tue, 17 Sep 2019 15:43:00 GMT

Microplastic particles are everywhere, but in freshwater systems, 60 percent of particles are clothing lint from laundry.

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Kids Are Not Hurt by Screen Time

Mon, 16 Sep 2019 20:32:00 GMT

A study finds no deleterious effects on mental health when kids spend their leisure time texting and engaging in other online activities.

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Lab-Grown Human Mini Brains Show Brainy Activity

Fri, 13 Sep 2019 15:50:00 GMT

As the little structures grow, their constituents specialize into different types of brain cells, begin to form connections and emit brain waves. They could be useful models for development and neurological conditions.

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Eavesdropping Puts Anxious Squirrels at Ease

Fri, 13 Sep 2019 01:00:00 GMT

Squirrels constantly scan their surroundings for hawks, owls and other predators. But they also surveil for threats by eavesdropping on bird chatter. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Earth's Magnetic Field Initiated a Pole Flip Many Millennia before the Switch

Thu, 12 Sep 2019 00:55:00 GMT

Lava flow records and sedimentary and Antarctic ice core data show evidence of planetary magnetic field activity 20,000 years before the beginning of the last pole reversal.

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Humpback Whales Swap Songs at Island Hub

Wed, 11 Sep 2019 00:40:00 GMT

At the Kermadec Islands, humpbacks from all over the South Pacific converge and swap songs. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Food Expiration Dates May Mislead Consumers

Mon, 09 Sep 2019 22:47:00 GMT

Better food labeling could prevent people from throwing away a lot of “expired” food that's still perfectly edible.

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Farmland Is Also Optimal for Solar Power

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 23:13:00 GMT

The conditions of sunlight, temperature, humidity and wind that make cropland good for agriculture also maximize solar panel efficiency.

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Chemical Tweak Recycles Polyurethane into Glue

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 02:00:00 GMT

It's not easy to recycle polyurethane, so it's usually tossed out or burned. But a chemical tweak can turn polyurethane into glue. Christine Herman reports.

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Cholesterol Climbs after Crows Chomp Cheeseburgers

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 23:00:00 GMT

Wild animals that live near humans have higher cholesterol than their rural counterparts—and our food could be to blame. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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How Hurricanes Influence Spider Aggressiveness

Fri, 30 Aug 2019 23:55:00 GMT

As Hurricane Dorian approaches Florida, consider that feeding style means that aggressive tangle-web spider colonies produce more offspring after severe weather, while docile colonies do better in calm conditions.

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Graphene Garment Blocks Blood-Sucking Skeeters

Wed, 28 Aug 2019 23:45:00 GMT

A small patch of graphene on human skin seemed to block the mosquitoes' ability to sense certain molecules that trigger a bite. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Martian Winds Could Spread Microbe Hitchhikers

Mon, 26 Aug 2019 23:28:00 GMT

Microbes fly tens of miles over Chile's dry, UV-blasted Atacama Desert—and scientists say the same could happen on Mars. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Including Indigenous Voices in Genomics

Thu, 22 Aug 2019 02:45:00 GMT

A program at the University of Illinois trains indigenous scientists in genomics—in hopes that future work will be aimed at benefiting those communities. Christine Herman reports.

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West Point Uniforms Signify Explosive Chemistry

Tue, 20 Aug 2019 00:40:00 GMT

U.S. Military Academy cadets wear the colors black, gray and gold for reasons found in gunpowder's chemistry.

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Secrets of the Universe Trapped in Antarctic Snow

Wed, 14 Aug 2019 18:10:00 GMT

Scientists found an interstellar iron isotope in Antarctic snow samples—which hints that our region of the universe may be the remnant of an ancient exploding star. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Certain Personality Types Are Likely to Make a "Foodie Call"

Tue, 13 Aug 2019 20:00:00 GMT

Some people go on dates just to score a free meal—a phenomenon known as a “foodie call.” But it takes a certain personality type. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Artificial Intelligence Sniffs Out Unsafe Foods

Mon, 12 Aug 2019 14:00:00 GMT

Researchers trained machine-learning algorithms to read Amazon reviews for hints that a food product would be recalled by the FDA. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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A Computer Tells Real Smiles from Phonies

Fri, 09 Aug 2019 14:00:00 GMT

Slight changes around the eyes are indeed a giveaway as to whether a smile is sincere or faked.

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Stare Down Gulls to Avoid Lunch Loss

Thu, 08 Aug 2019 20:07:00 GMT

Researchers slowed the approach of greedy gulls by an average of 21 seconds by staring at the birds versus looking elsewhere. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Real Laughs Motivate More Guffaws

Thu, 08 Aug 2019 01:05:00 GMT

Honest, involuntary laughter cued people to laugh more at some really bad jokes than they did when hearing forced laughter.

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Extinction Wipes Out Evolution's Hard Work

Tue, 06 Aug 2019 03:20:00 GMT

By killing off many of New Zealand's endemic birds, humans destroyed 50 million years' worth of evolutionary history. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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London Is Crawling with Drug-Resistant Microbes

Sat, 03 Aug 2019 22:45:00 GMT

Nearly half of bacteria gathered in public settings around the city were resistant to two or more commonly used antibiotics, such as penicillin and erythromycin. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Male Black Widows Poach Rivals' Approaches

Fri, 02 Aug 2019 01:30:00 GMT

Mating is risky business for black widow males—so they hitchhike on the silk threads left by competitors to more quickly find a mate. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Babies Want Fair Leaders

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 17:25:00 GMT

Babies as young as a year and a half want leaders to fix situations in which they see someone else being treated unfairly.

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Parrots Are Making the U.S. Home

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:25:00 GMT

Released or escaped parrots are now living in most states and are breeding in at least 21. For some, it's a second chance at survival.

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Science News Briefs from All Over

Tue, 30 Jul 2019 02:15:00 GMT

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Guatemala to Australia, including one about the first recorded tornado in Nepal.

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Tourist Photographs Help African Wildlife Census

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 23:30:00 GMT

Photographs snapped by safari tourists are a surprisingly accurate way to assess populations of African carnivores. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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For Ants, the Sky's the Compass

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 04:05:00 GMT

Computer modeling revealed that insects with a celestial compass can likely determine direction down to just a couple degrees of error. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Why Two Moonships Were Better Than One

Sat, 20 Jul 2019 22:40:00 GMT

Engineer John Houbolt pushed for a smaller ship to land on the lunar surface while the command module stayed in orbit around the moon.

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One Small Scoop, One Giant Impact for Mankind

Sat, 20 Jul 2019 00:16:00 GMT

Just before Neil Armstrong climbed back into the lunar module, he scooped up a few last-minute soil samples--which upturned our understanding of planetary formation. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Investigating the Zombie Ant's "Death Grip"

Fri, 19 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Researchers dissected the jaws of ants infected with the Ophiocordyceps fungus to determine how the fungus hijacks the ants' behavior. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Attractive Young Females May Have Justice Edge

Tue, 16 Jul 2019 19:00:00 GMT

Youths rated as attractive were less likely to have negative encounters with the criminal justice system—but only if they were women. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Tobacco Plants Made to Produce Useful Compounds

Mon, 15 Jul 2019 21:09:00 GMT

A proof-of-concept study got transgenic tobacco plants to make a useful enzyme in their chloroplasts, not nuclei, minimizing chances for transfer to other organisms.

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Rhinos and Their Gamekeepers Benefit from AI

Fri, 12 Jul 2019 01:12:00 GMT

Starting in 2017, an artificial intelligence monitoring system at the Welgevonden Game Reserve in South Africa has been helping to protect rhinos and their caretakers.

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Backpack Harvests Energy as You Walk

Thu, 11 Jul 2019 03:15:00 GMT

The pack produces a steady trickle of electricity from the swinging motion of your stuff. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Why Baseballs Are Flying in 2019

Tue, 09 Jul 2019 21:12:00 GMT

An analysis of the 2019 edition of the Major League baseball points to reasons why it's leaving ballparks at a record rate.

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Some Hot Dog Histology

Thu, 04 Jul 2019 04:55:00 GMT

A lab analysis found that even an all-beef frankfurter had very little skeletal muscle, or "meat." So what's in there? Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Mind and Body Benefit from Two Hours in Nature Each Week

Tue, 02 Jul 2019 01:18:00 GMT

People who spent at least two hours outside—either all at once or totaled over several shorter visits—were more likely to report good health and psychological well-being. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Scientist Encourages Other Women Scientists to Make Themselves Heard

Sun, 30 Jun 2019 18:15:00 GMT

Geneticist Natalie Telis noticed few women asking questions at scientific conferences. So she publicized the problem and set about to make a change. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Male Bats Up Mating Odds with Mouth Morsels

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 23:24:00 GMT

Males that allow females to take food right out of their mouths are more likely to sire offspring with their dining companions.

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Scientists Fool Flies with "Virtual Tastes"

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 04:40:00 GMT

By switching fruit flies' sensory neurons on and off with light, scientists were able to create the sensation of sweet or bitter tastes. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Wheat Plants "Sneeze" and Spread Disease

Wed, 26 Jun 2019 04:40:00 GMT

Wheat plants' leaves repel water, which creates the perfect conditions for dew droplets to catapult off the leaves—taking pathogenic spores for the ride. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Elite Runners' Microbes Make Mice Mightier

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 04:25:00 GMT

Mice that were fed bacteria isolated from elite athletes logged more treadmill time than other mice that got bacteria found in yogurt.

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Science News Briefs from around the World

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 00:40:00 GMT

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Canada to Kenya, including one about how humans thousands of years ago in what is now Argentina butchered and presumably ate giant ground sloths.

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Antiperspirant Boosts Armpit and Toe-Web Microbial Diversity

Sat, 22 Jun 2019 01:00:00 GMT

Rather than wiping microbes out, antiperspirants and foot powders increased the diversity of microbial flora in armpits and between toes. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Monkey Cousins Use Similar Calls

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 00:36:00 GMT

Two monkey species who last shared a common ancestor 3 million years ago have "eerily similar" alarm calls.

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How Millipedes Avoid Interspecies Sexual Slips

Sun, 16 Jun 2019 16:10:00 GMT

Millipedes, often blind, have come up with clever physical signals to ward off sexual advances from members of wrong species.

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You Contain Multitudes of Microplastics

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 21:57:00 GMT

People appear to consume between 74,000 and 121,000 microplastic particles annually, and that's probably a gross underestimate.

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A Biodegradable Label Doesn't Make It So

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 03:00:00 GMT

At the third Scientific American “Science on the Hill” event, “Solving the Plastic Waste Problem”, one of the issues discussed by experts on Capitol Hill was biodegradability.

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High School Cheaters Nabbed by Neural Network

Thu, 06 Jun 2019 19:00:00 GMT

Researchers trained a neural network to scrutinize high school essays and sniff out ghostwritten papers. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Preserved Poop Is an Archaeological Treasure

Wed, 05 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Anthropologists found parasite eggs in ancient poop samples, providing a glimpse of human health as hunter-gatherers transitioned to settlements. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Remembering Murray Gell-Mann

Tue, 04 Jun 2019 04:53:00 GMT

Murray Gell-Mann, 1969 Nobel Laureate in Physics who identified the quark, died May 24th.

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Bonobo Mothers Supervise Their Sons' Monkey Business

Thu, 30 May 2019 00:45:00 GMT

Some wild female bonobos introduce their sons to desirable females—then make sure their relations won't be interrupted by competing males. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Music May Orchestrate Better Brain Connectivity in Preterm Infants

Wed, 29 May 2019 04:10:00 GMT

Preterm babies who listened to music in the neonatal intensive care unit had brain activity that more closely resembled that of full-term babies. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Icy Room Temperatures May Chill Productivity

Fri, 24 May 2019 01:45:00 GMT

A new study suggests women's performance on math and verbal tasks increases as room temperature rises, up to about the mid 70s F. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Bird Beak Shapes Depend on More Than Diet

Wed, 22 May 2019 22:41:00 GMT

A study found that only a small percentage of bird beak shape variation is dependent on diet, with other factors like display and nest construction probably playing parts too.

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Ancient Gum Gives Archaeologists Something to Chew On

Tue, 21 May 2019 00:45:00 GMT

Chewing gums discovered in western Sweden contain the oldest human DNA found in Scandinavia. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Nobelist: Harness Evolution as a Problem-Solving Algorithm

Fri, 17 May 2019 21:14:00 GMT

Frances Arnold, the Caltech scientist who shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, says evolution can show us how to solve problems of sustainability.

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Unread Books at Home Still Spark Literacy Habits

Thu, 16 May 2019 17:10:00 GMT

Growing up in a home filled with books enhances enhances intellectual capacity in later life, even if you don't read them all.

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Kid Climate Educators Open Adult Eyes

Wed, 15 May 2019 16:06:00 GMT

A study finds that kids, especially daughters, are effective at teaching their parents about climate issues.

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Penguin Poop Helps Biodiversity Bloom in Antarctica

Wed, 15 May 2019 00:05:00 GMT

Ammonia from penguin poop gets carried on Antarctic winds, fertilizing mosses and lichens as far as a mile away. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Ancient Whiz Opens Archaeology Window

Mon, 13 May 2019 19:10:00 GMT

The residue of ancient urine can reveal the presence of early stationary herder-farmer communities.

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U.S. Coral Reefs Do $1.8 Billion of Work Per Year

Thu, 09 May 2019 01:08:00 GMT

By dampening the energy of waves, coral reefs protect coastal cities from flooding damage and other economic losses. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Could Air-Conditioners Help Cool the Planet?

Mon, 06 May 2019 23:50:00 GMT

Researchers want to outfit air conditioners with carbon-capture technology. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Chemists Investigate Casanova's Clap

Fri, 03 May 2019 01:00:00 GMT

In his memoirs, the womanizing writer Giacomo Casanova described suffering several bouts of gonorrhea—but researchers found no trace of the microbe on his handwritten journals. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Software Sniffs Out Rat Squeaks

Thu, 02 May 2019 02:50:00 GMT

Algorithms learned to sift ultrasonic rat squeaks from other noise, which could help researchers who study rodents' emotional states. Lucy Huang reports.

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New Model Aims to Solve Mystery of the Moon's Formation

Wed, 01 May 2019 01:19:00 GMT

Scientists propose that the moon could have formed when a Mars-sized object slammed into an Earth covered in magma seas. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Cats Recognize Their Names—but May Not Respond

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 01:45:00 GMT

Felines move their ears, heads and tails more when they hear their names compared to when they hear similar words. Jim Daley reports.

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Science News Briefs from All Over

Sat, 27 Apr 2019 20:11:00 GMT

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Liberia to Hawaii, including one on the discovery in Northern Ireland of soil bacteria that stop the growth of MRSA and other superbugs.

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Hurricane Maria Rain Amount Chances Are Boosted by Climate Change

Fri, 26 Apr 2019 19:52:00 GMT

The likelihood of an event like Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and of its massive precipitation, is fivefold higher in the climate of today than it would have been some 60 years ago

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Harder-Working Snakes Pack Stronger Venom

Fri, 26 Apr 2019 01:32:00 GMT

Snake venom toxicity depends on snake size, energy requirements and environmental dimensionality more than on prey size.

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River Dolphins Have a Wide Vocal Repertoire

Thu, 25 Apr 2019 01:10:00 GMT

Freshwater dolphins are evolutionary relics, and their calls give clues to the origins of cetacean communication in general. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Honeybees Can Put Two and Two Together

Wed, 24 Apr 2019 01:29:00 GMT

The tiny brain of a honeybee is apparently able to calculate small numbers' addition and subtraction. Annie Sneed reports.

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4/20 Traffic Accidents Claim Curbed

Sat, 20 Apr 2019 17:37:00 GMT

A deeper data dive calls into question a 2018 study that found a spike in fatal traffic accidents apparently related to marijuana consumption on this date.

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Hyena Society Stability Has Last Laugh

Sat, 20 Apr 2019 00:10:00 GMT

Female hyenas keep their clans in line by virtue of their complex social networks. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Gluten-Free Restaurant Foods Are Often Mislabeled

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 00:20:00 GMT

One in three gluten-free dishes tested at restaurants contained gluten—especially GF pizzas and pastas. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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What Chickens Can Teach Hearing Researchers

Thu, 18 Apr 2019 02:09:00 GMT

At an April 9th event sponsored by the Kavli Foundation and produced by Scientific American that honored Nobel and Kavli Prize winners, neuroscientists James Hudspeth and Robert Fettiplace talked about the physiology of hearing and the possibility of restoring hearing loss.

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Nobelist Says System of Science Offers Life Lessons

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 18:40:00 GMT

At an April 9th event sponsored by the Kavli Foundation and produced by Scientific American that honored Nobel and Kavli Prize winners, economist Paul Romer talked about how the social system of science offers hope for humanity and for how we can live with each other.

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Squeezed Potassium Atoms Straddle Liquid and Solid

Sat, 13 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMT

At extreme pressures, potassium atoms can be both liquid and solid at the same time, a phase of matter known as "chain melt." Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Urban Coyote Evolution Favors the Bold

Fri, 12 Apr 2019 01:15:00 GMT

Coyotes become fearless around people in just a few generations—which isn't good for their longterm co-existence with humans in cities. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Computers Turn an Ear on New York City

Thu, 11 Apr 2019 01:05:00 GMT

NYU's “Sounds of New York City” project listens to the city—and then, with the help of citizen scientists, teaches machines to decode the soundscape. Jim Daley reports.

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Whitening Strips Alter Proteins in Teeth

Tue, 09 Apr 2019 21:10:00 GMT

Hydrogen peroxide in whitening treatments penetrates enamel and dentin, and alters tooth proteins. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Infrared Light Offers a Cooler Way to Defrost

Mon, 08 Apr 2019 23:00:00 GMT

Light tuned to a specific frequency warms ice more than water—which could come in handy for defrosting delicate biological samples. Adam Levy reports.

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Spider Monkeys Optimize Jungle Acoustics

Fri, 05 Apr 2019 04:00:00 GMT

The monkeys lower the pitch of their "whinnies" when they're far from the rest of their group, which might help the calls travel further through jungle foliage. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Tennessee Whiskey Relies on Missing Ingredients

Wed, 03 Apr 2019 04:40:00 GMT

Food chemists precisely measured how charcoal filtration contributes to Tennessee whiskey's smoother flavor. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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There's a Word for Today

Mon, 01 Apr 2019 19:28:00 GMT

English lacks some words that other languages pack with meaning.

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Bumblebee Queens Prefer Layovers to Nonstop Flights

Fri, 29 Mar 2019 00:10:00 GMT

Scientists tracked bumblebee queens with radar when they emerged from hibernation and found the bees take only brief flights en route to a new nest. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Scenic City Sights Linked to Higher Happiness

Wed, 27 Mar 2019 04:52:00 GMT

Tracking the location and mood of 15,000 people, researchers found that scenic beauty was linked to happiness—including near urban sights like bridges and buildings. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Tech's Brain Effect: It's Complicated

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 02:50:00 GMT

We don't yet know what the immersion in technology does to our brains, but one neuroscientist says the answer is likely to be that there's good, there's bad, and it's complex.

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Daylight Brings Toxic Beetles Together for Safety

Sat, 23 Mar 2019 03:18:00 GMT

During daylight hours, hundreds of bombardier beetles of multiple species will congregate together to more effectively ward off any predators not afraid of a lone beetle's toxic spray.

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Solar Jets Cause Standing Waves in Earth's Magnetic Field

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 20:28:00 GMT

When jets of charged particles from the sun hit our magnetosphere, some of the ensuing ripples travel toward the northern and southern poles and get reflected back. The resulting interference allows standing waves to form, like on a drumhead.

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Sing Solo for Higher Fidelity

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 00:30:00 GMT

By tracking duetting choir singers, researchers found that when an individual singer's pitch drifts off tune their partner's tend to too. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Edible Insect Breeding Led to Larger but Not Necessarily Better Larvae

Fri, 15 Mar 2019 02:10:00 GMT

Researchers aiming to lower the cost of mealworms were able to double the worms' size, but the larger larvae had fewer eggs and weaker offspring. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Busting Earth-Bound Asteroids a Bigger Job Than We Thought

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 22:30:00 GMT

A new model suggests smashing killer space rocks with insufficient force could let gravity pull the pieces back together. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Weekday–Weekend Sleep Imbalance Bad for Blood Sugar Regulation

Mon, 11 Mar 2019 18:15:00 GMT

Weekday sleep deprivation with weekend make-up sleeping seems to be worse for blood sugar control than even chronic sleep deprivation alone.

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Warm-Blooded Animals Lost Ability to Heal the Heart

Fri, 08 Mar 2019 03:30:00 GMT

Thyroid hormone, which helps warm-blooded animals regulate body temperature, also appears to put a halt on heart regeneration. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Animal Migrations Track with Wikipedia Searches

Wed, 06 Mar 2019 19:10:00 GMT

By analyzing nearly 2.5 billion Wikipedia page views, researchers found species searches reflect seasonal animal migrations and plant blooming. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Baseball Commish Talks Big Data

Tue, 05 Mar 2019 13:00:00 GMT

At a sports technology conference, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred addressed issues including an automated strike zone and advanced analytics.

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Background Music Might Stifle Creativity

Mon, 04 Mar 2019 18:13:00 GMT

Volunteers who listened to music solved fewer word puzzles than others who worked in silence. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Science News Briefs from around the Globe

Mon, 04 Mar 2019 03:45:00 GMT

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Greenland to Palau, including one on the discovery of a trove of mummified cats in Egypt.

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Budding Yeast Produce Cannabis Compounds

Fri, 01 Mar 2019 01:30:00 GMT

Biologists have taken the genes that produce cannabinoids in weed and plugged them into yeast, making rare and novel compounds more accessible. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Who Has "the Right Stuff" for Mars?

Tue, 26 Feb 2019 19:45:00 GMT

Humans traveling to Mars will be required to operate with a degree of autonomy human astronauts have never had, due to communication delays. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Grandma's Influence Is Good for Grandkids

Mon, 25 Feb 2019 19:10:00 GMT

Grandmothers can enhance the survival of grandchildren. That is, unless grandma's too old or lives too far away. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Should Robots Have a License to Kill?

Sat, 23 Feb 2019 22:30:00 GMT

Artificial intelligence experts, ethicists and diplomats debate autonomous weapons. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Warming Climate Implies More Flies—and Disease

Thu, 21 Feb 2019 03:39:00 GMT

The incidence of foodborne illness could jump in a warming world, due to an increase in housefly activity. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Light-Skin Variant Arose in Asia Independent of Europe

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 13:00:00 GMT

A new genetic study of Latin Americans provides evidence that gene variants for lighter skin color came about in Asia as well as in Europe. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Teach Science Process over Findings

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 00:03:00 GMT

Seismologist and policy advisor Lucy Jones says science education needs to teach how science works more than just what it finds out.

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Human Diet Drugs Kill Mosquitoes' Appetite, Too

Sat, 16 Feb 2019 20:30:00 GMT

When researchers fed mosquitoes a drug used to treat people for obesity, the insects were less interested in hunting for their next human meal ticket. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Grazing Deer Alter Forest Acoustics

Fri, 15 Feb 2019 23:00:00 GMT

Deer populations have exploded in North American woodlands, changing forest ecology—and how sounds, like birdsong, travel through the trees. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Elephant Weight Cycles with New Teeth

Fri, 15 Feb 2019 01:24:00 GMT

Elephants have six sets of teeth over their lives, sometimes two sets at once. At those times, they can extract more nutrition from food and put on weight.

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Finally Over for Mars Rover

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 20:55:00 GMT

The rover Opportunity has called it quits after working for more than 14 years on Mars.

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Our Brains Really Remember Some Pop Music

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 04:30:00 GMT

Although millennials' memory of recent pop tunes drops quickly, their ability to identify top hits from the 1960s through 1990s remains moderately high. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Biologists Track Tweets to Monitor Birds

Sat, 09 Feb 2019 01:10:00 GMT

Conservation biologists can track the whereabouts of endangered species by the sounds they make, avoiding cumbersome trackers and tags. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Desalination Could Cause Ecological Sea Change

Thu, 07 Feb 2019 12:00:00 GMT

An environmental assessment of the nation's largest desalination plant finds mixed results. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Different Humpback Whale Groups Meet to Jam

Thu, 07 Feb 2019 03:10:00 GMT

Humpback populations from the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet up south of Africa and trade song stylings.

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Targeting Certain Brain Cells Can Switch Off Pain

Mon, 04 Feb 2019 23:45:00 GMT

By turning off certain brain cells, researchers were able to make mice sense painful stimuli—but not the associated discomfort. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Neandertal Spears Were Surprisingly Deadly

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 17:30:00 GMT

Javelin throwers chucking replicas of Neandertal spears were able to hit targets farther away, and with greater force than previously thought to be possible. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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"Rectenna" Converts Wi-Fi to Electricity

Wed, 30 Jan 2019 17:00:00 GMT

Researchers built a small, flexible device that harvests wi-fi, bluetooth and cellular signals, and turns them into DC electricity. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Science News Briefs from the World Over

Tue, 29 Jan 2019 18:50:00 GMT

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Papua New Guinea to Kazakhstan, including one on the slow slide of Mount Etna in Italy.

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Cod Could Cope with Constrained Climate Change

Mon, 28 Jan 2019 18:40:00 GMT

Cod egg survival stays high with limited warming, but plummets when the temperature rises a few degrees Celsius in their current spawning grounds.

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Intimate Hermit Crab Keeps Shell On

Sat, 26 Jan 2019 01:22:00 GMT

A species of hermit crab appears to have evolved a large penis to enable intercourse without leaving, and thus possibly losing, its adopted shell.

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Ecologists Eavesdrop with Bioacoustics

Thu, 24 Jan 2019 19:05:00 GMT

By coupling audio recordings with satellite data and camera traps, ecologists can keep their eyes—and ears—on protected tropical forests. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Saturn's Blingy Rings Are a Recent Upgrade

Thu, 24 Jan 2019 03:00:00 GMT

Though Saturn formed about 4.5 billion years ago, its rings were added relatively recently—only 100 million to 10 million years ago. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Do-Gooders Should Survey Communities First

Wed, 23 Jan 2019 03:30:00 GMT

Detroit residents declined an offer of free street trees—but were more willing to accept them if they had a say in the type of tree. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Viewing This Weekend's Lunar Eclipse

Sat, 19 Jan 2019 04:05:00 GMT

A total lunar eclipse will grace the skies this Sunday, January 20—and it may or may not be red. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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"Mona Lisa Effect" Not True for Mona Lisa

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 02:00:00 GMT

The Mona Lisa effect is the illusion that the subject of a painting follows you with her gaze, despite where you stand. But da Vinci's famous painting doesn't have that quality. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Ants Stick to Cliques to Dodge Disease

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 23:30:00 GMT

Ants infected with fungal pathogens steer clear of other cliques within the colony—avoiding wider infection, and allowing for a sort of immunity. Lucy Huang reports.

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Mistimed Migration Means Bird Death Battles

Sun, 13 Jan 2019 17:00:00 GMT

Climate change is shifting population numbers and nest building by resident and migratory birds in Europe—sometimes leading to deadly conflict. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Monogamy May Be Written in Our Genes

Sat, 12 Jan 2019 02:00:00 GMT

In animal studies, a set of 24 genes involved in neural development, learning and memory, and cognition, seem to be associated with monogamy. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Seeing Superman Increases Altruism

Thu, 10 Jan 2019 23:49:00 GMT

Subject who saw a Superman poster were more likely to offer help than were people who saw another image.

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Inhaled RNA Might Help Heal Cystic Fibrosis

Wed, 09 Jan 2019 04:55:00 GMT

Scientists are working to correct a genetic defect in cystic fibrosis patients by having them inhale RNA. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Invisible Killers Hitchhike on Native Plant Seedlings

Sat, 05 Jan 2019 03:00:00 GMT

More than a quarter of the seedlings sampled at native plant nurseries were infected with pathogens—which could hamper restoration work. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Facebook Users Value the Service More Than Investors Do

Thu, 03 Jan 2019 04:45:00 GMT

Users of the social network said they'd require payment of more than $1,000 to quit the platform for one year. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Science News from around the Planet

Mon, 31 Dec 2018 23:27:00 GMT

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Germany to Rwanda, including one on the discovery of the world's oldest known brewery, discovered in Israel.

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Turn Xmas Tree into Food and Medicine

Sun, 30 Dec 2018 00:30:00 GMT

Pine needles can easily be broken down into sugars as well as the building blocks of paint, adhesives and medicines. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Simple Sugars Wipe Out Beneficial Gut Bugs

Thu, 27 Dec 2018 16:00:00 GMT

Fructose and sucrose can make it all the way to the colon, where they spell a sugary death sentence for beneficial bacteria. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Smarter Pricing Could Ease Parking Frustration

Thu, 27 Dec 2018 04:30:00 GMT

A new algorithm raises parking rates in busy neighborhoods and lowers them elsewhere, guaranteeing free parking spots regardless of location. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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"Hunger Hormone" Ghrelin Aids Overindulgence

Tue, 25 Dec 2018 14:00:00 GMT

Ghrelin, the hormone that makes you hungry, also makes food, and food smells, irresistibly appealing. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Colorful Peacocks Impress Females with Good Vibes

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 17:00:00 GMT

Peafowls' head crests are specifically tuned to the vibrations produced by feather-rattling male peacocks, thus acting as a sort of antenna. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Measuring the Strength of a Person's Gaze

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:10:00 GMT

A new study suggests that, unconsciously, we actually do believe that looking exerts a slight force on the things being looked at. Karen Hopkin reports.

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"Relaxation Music" Works—but So Does Chopin

Sat, 22 Dec 2018 13:00:00 GMT

So-called "relaxation music" is only about as effective as a soothing Chopin piece at lulling listeners into a relaxed state. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Bone Building Needs Bit of Breakdown First

Fri, 21 Dec 2018 16:44:00 GMT

The hormone irisin encourages bone remodeling, in part by first triggering another substance that encourages some bone breakdown.

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Frog Picks Maternity Ward Like Goldilocks

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 19:19:00 GMT

The Bahia's broad-snout casque-headed tree frog needs a pool to raise its young that's just right.

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You Gotta Scratch That Itch

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 21:57:00 GMT

A particular set of brain neurons may be behind registering itch and inducing us to scratch.

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Join Blue Planet II Live-Tweet

Fri, 14 Dec 2018 17:54:00 GMT

Starting December 16, ocean scientists will live-tweet the BBC documentary series Blue Planet II, available via Netflix.

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Big-Boned Chickens May Be Humans' Geologic Legacy

Thu, 13 Dec 2018 23:30:00 GMT

Millions of years from now, the geologic record of the "Anthropocene" will be littered with plastics, yes, but also chicken bones. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Ancient Marine Reptiles Had Familiar Gear

Wed, 12 Dec 2018 21:20:00 GMT

Ichthyosaurs had traits in common with turtles and modern marine mammals, like blubber and countershading camouflage. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Little Aphids Ride Big Ones to Safety

Wed, 12 Dec 2018 00:57:00 GMT

When trouble lurks, juvenile aphids drop off of the plants they're eating and hitch a ride on bigger aphid escapees.

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Utah's Deserts Are Bee Hotspots

Sun, 09 Dec 2018 03:00:00 GMT

The Trump administration is shrinking Utah's desert monuments, stripping some federal protections for wild pollinators. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Who's a Smart Dog?!

Fri, 07 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT

An estimate of dog intelligence requires looking at non-dogs as well to understand what's special to canines and what is just typical of the taxonomic groups they're in.

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Data Reveals Most Influential Movies

Thu, 06 Dec 2018 02:35:00 GMT

By analyzing the network connections between 47,000 films on IMDb, researchers found the most influential films ever made. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Blue Whales Have Changed Their Tune

Sat, 01 Dec 2018 01:16:00 GMT

In the last few decades blue whale calls have been getting lower in pitch—and a rebound in their numbers may be the reason. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Smart Meters Speed Showers

Tue, 27 Nov 2018 19:00:00 GMT

Smart meters on showerheads encouraged hotel guests to conserve—even though they personally saved no money. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Mars Mission Makes Clean Landing

Mon, 26 Nov 2018 21:11:00 GMT

The sounds of the Mars InSight Mission control room during the tense minutes leading to the landing on the surface.

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Do Wine over Those Brussels Sprouts

Thu, 22 Nov 2018 02:45:00 GMT

Taking a swig of red wine before eating Brussels sprouts appears to moderate Brussels sprouts' polarizing flavor. Christopher Intagliata reports

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Rains Bring a Microbial Massacre to Chilean Desert

Tue, 20 Nov 2018 02:10:00 GMT

Freak heavy rainstorms in 2015 and 2017 wiped out many dry-adapted microbes in the Atacama Desert, useful info in the search for life off Earth. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Consensual Hugs Seem to Reduce Stress

Sun, 18 Nov 2018 21:14:00 GMT

People who had a conflict in a given day but also got hugged were not as affected by the negative interaction as were their unhugged counterparts.

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World's Largest Organism Faces Bleak Future

Sat, 17 Nov 2018 18:34:00 GMT

The single organism that is the Utah aspen grove known as Pando is on the decline due to herbivores wiping out its youngest tree outgrowths

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U.S. Immigrants Leave Country—and Microbes—Behind

Thu, 15 Nov 2018 04:30:00 GMT

Immigrants to the U.S. lose their native mix of gut microbes almost immediately after arriving in the U.S.—which researchers can't quite explain. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Science News Briefs from All over

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 02:15:00 GMT

A few very brief reports about international science and technology from Alaska to Indonesia, including one on offshore dairy farming from the Netherlands.

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Babies and Chimps Share a Laugh

Sun, 11 Nov 2018 04:10:00 GMT

Adult humans laugh primarily on the exhale, but human babies laugh on the inhale and the exhale—as do chimps. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Singing Fish Reveal Underwater Battles in the Amazon

Fri, 09 Nov 2018 03:20:00 GMT

Researchers recorded piranha "honks" and catfish "screeches" in the Peruvian Amazon, which might illuminate fish activity in murky jungle waters. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Social Construct of Race Imposes Biology

Thu, 08 Nov 2018 04:19:00 GMT

Anthropologist Jennifer Raff argues that race is culturally created, but has biological consequences.

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Pandas Swoon to Particular Croons

Wed, 07 Nov 2018 00:10:00 GMT

Listening to the sounds panda pairs make when they're introduced could lead to better breeding success. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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First Benefit of Knowing Your Genome

Fri, 02 Nov 2018 22:20:00 GMT

The "low hanging fruit" of genome-related health care will be knowing which drugs are likely to treat you best, says science journalist Carl Zimmer.

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For Halloween, Consider the Chocolate Midge

Wed, 31 Oct 2018 18:20:00 GMT

A tiny fly, related to biting no-see-ums, pollinates cacao trees and enables our chocolate cravings. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Dolphins Dumb Down Calls to Compete with Ship Noise

Tue, 30 Oct 2018 04:45:00 GMT

Bottlenose dolphins simplify and raise the pitch of their whistles to be heard above underwater shipping noise. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Asocial Octopuses Become Cuddly on MDMA

Mon, 22 Oct 2018 18:00:00 GMT

Octopuses react to MDMA much like humans do. And not surprisingly, given their anatomy, the animals are excellent huggers. Annie Sneed reports.

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Science News Briefs from around the Globe

Sun, 21 Oct 2018 02:50:00 GMT

A few very brief reports about science and technology from around the globe, including one from Mongolia on horse dentistry.

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Wild Songbirds Can Pick Up New Tunes

Fri, 19 Oct 2018 02:45:00 GMT

Researchers taught two dozen wild sparrows new songs, by playing them the recordings of sparrows that live thousands of miles away. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Health Care Let Neandertals "Punch above Their Weight"

Thu, 18 Oct 2018 04:30:00 GMT

By caring for their sick and injured, Neandertals were able to expand into more dangerous environments and pursue more deadly prey. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Nice People Have Emptier Wallets

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 04:00:00 GMT

A study correlating personality traits with financial data found that agreeable people had lower savings, higher debt and higher bankruptcy rates. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Solar Eclipse Was a Buzzkill for Bees

Sat, 13 Oct 2018 04:52:00 GMT

Bees suddenly fell silent when the sun disappeared during last year's solar eclipse—perhaps because they were tricked into night mode. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Confident Tone Overcomes Accent Distrust

Fri, 12 Oct 2018 00:35:00 GMT

English as-a-first-language Canadian study subjects were less trusting of statements in English spoken with a foreign accent, unless the speaker sounded confident about their assertion.

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Mom's Genes Make Some Giraffes Hard to Spot

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 23:05:00 GMT

Baby giraffes inherit aspects of their mothers' patterning—which could give them a survival advantage if good camouflage runs in the family. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Economics Nobel Highlights Climate Action Necessity

Tue, 09 Oct 2018 20:35:00 GMT

William Nordhaus shared the 2018 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, "for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis,” with Paul Romer, "for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis."

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Highway Crossings Protect Migrating Pronghorns—and Motorists

Sat, 06 Oct 2018 19:30:00 GMT

Twice a year, thousands of pronghorn antelope and mule deer migrate through Wyoming, and newly built highway crossings are sparing the lives of animals—and motorists. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Beer Fermentation Hops Along

Fri, 05 Oct 2018 03:10:00 GMT

The bittering agents called hops have enzymes that chew up starch and unleash more fermentable sugar—which can boost alcohol and CO2 in the finished brew. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Nobel in Chemistry for New and Useful Chemical Entities via Evolutionary Principles

Wed, 03 Oct 2018 13:00:00 GMT

Frances H. Arnold, George P. Smith and Gregory P. Winter share the 2018 chemistry Nobel for developing evolutionary-based techniques that lead to the creation of new chemical entities with useful properties.

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Nobel in Physics for Controlling Laser Light

Tue, 02 Oct 2018 12:25:00 GMT

Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland share the 2018 physics Nobel for their work with lasers that have led to numerous practical applications, such as eye surgery.

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Nobel for Helping the Immune System Fight Cancer

Mon, 01 Oct 2018 12:08:00 GMT

James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo share the Nobel Prize for their work on harnessing the cancer patient's own immune system to destroy tumors.

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Blasey Ford Spells Out Trauma Memory Formation

Mon, 01 Oct 2018 04:22:00 GMT

Christine Blasey Ford's professional expertise came into play during her testimony regarding the Supreme Court nomination.

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Scanning Ancient Civilizations from the Skies

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 22:33:00 GMT

An aerial laser scan of more than 800 square miles of Guatemalan jungle revealed Maya buildings, canals, roads and bridges. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Antifreeze Surface Fights Ice with Ice

Wed, 26 Sep 2018 04:11:00 GMT

Patterning a surface with tiny stripes of ice prevents frost formation on the rest of the surface—a technique that could keep planes or roads frost-free. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Scale Can Measure Medicine—and Play a Scale, Too

Tue, 25 Sep 2018 02:45:00 GMT

Researchers have designed a musical instrument that can detect counterfeit drugs by the pitch of its notes. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Diverse Tree Portfolio Weathers Droughts Better

Sat, 22 Sep 2018 04:00:00 GMT

Forests with numerous tree species, and therefore a mix of water-management strategies, appear more tolerant of drought. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Pirates Needed Science, Too

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 18:03:00 GMT

On International Talk Like a Pirate Day, here's an eye-patch-witness account of how science helps in all peg-leg walks of life, even piracy

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Sea Otters' Powerful Paw Prey Perception

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 04:00:00 GMT

The marine mammals have extraordinarily sensitive touch—which helps them nab prey in the absence of other sensory cues. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Science News Briefs from Around the World

Mon, 17 Sep 2018 22:37:00 GMT

A few very brief reports about science and technology from around the globe.

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Genetic Tweak Gave Early Humans a Leg Up

Thu, 13 Sep 2018 13:00:00 GMT

A mutation in a key gene may have endowed humans with superior endurance—allowing them to compete better with other animals on the savanna. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Earlier Springs May Mean Mistimed Bird Migrations

Wed, 12 Sep 2018 19:01:00 GMT

Springtime's arriving earlier across North America. But the degree of change isn't the same everywhere, which could spell trouble for migratory birds. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Survey the Wildlife of the "Great Indoors"

Tue, 11 Sep 2018 00:10:00 GMT

Biologists are enlisting citizen scientists to poke around under the sink and behind the curtains, for wildlife living in the "great indoors." Karen Hopkin reports.

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When Neutron Stars Collide

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 22:00:00 GMT

Astrophysicists have gotten a better glimpse at what happens to crashing neutron stars by listening in on the electromagnetic echoes of the collision. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Bonnethead Sharks Are Underwater Lawn Mowers

Thu, 06 Sep 2018 23:10:00 GMT

The hammerhead relatives consume copious amounts of sea grass, and have the digestive machinery to process it—making them true omnivores. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Hurricane Is a Natural Selection Experiment

Thu, 06 Sep 2018 04:00:00 GMT

When Hurricane Irma blew through the Turks and Caicos, lizards with shorter hindlimbs lucked out. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Pasta Problem Cracked!

Wed, 05 Sep 2018 00:28:00 GMT

An intrepid undergrad led the way to understanding the physics of snapping strands of spaghetti.

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Science News You Might Have Missed

Fri, 31 Aug 2018 21:39:00 GMT

A few very brief reports about science and technology from around the globe.

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Pineapple Waste Won't Be Wasted

Mon, 27 Aug 2018 15:57:00 GMT

Costa Rican scientists are extracting valuable materials from the peel and stubble of pineapples.

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Sometimes Mosquitoes Are Just Thirsty

Fri, 24 Aug 2018 12:30:00 GMT

Mosquitoes want your blood for its proteins...or simply to hydrate on a hot, dry day.

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Robot Bartender Will Take Your Order

Thu, 23 Aug 2018 12:30:00 GMT

Digital assistants have to respond quickly, but correctly—so researchers are studying how real humans navigate that trade-off, to design better machines. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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As Spring Arrives Earlier, Arctic Geese Speed Up Their Migration

Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:00:00 GMT

The birds are arriving in the Arctic up to 13 days earlier than they used to. But at a cost: hunger. Annie Sneed reports.

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Freeloading Ants Help the Workflow

Tue, 21 Aug 2018 12:30:00 GMT

Fire ants tunnels got excavated efficiently by only a small percentage of the group doing most of the work, thus avoiding pileups in tight spaces.

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Ancient Americans Bred Symbolically Important Scarlet Macaws

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 13:00:00 GMT

Genetic information from the bones of macaws found in abandoned pueblos suggests they were bred and distributed as a commodity. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Rising CO2 Means Monarch Butterfly Bellyaches

Fri, 17 Aug 2018 12:00:00 GMT

Milkweed grown with more carbon dioxide in the air supplies fewer toxins to monarch butterflies that need the toxins to fight off gut parasites.

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For Some Crows, Migration Is Optional

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 22:00:00 GMT

Crows are what's known as "partial migrants"—as cold weather approaches, some crows fly south whereas others stay put. And that behavior appears to be ingrained. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Plants Dominate the Planet's Biomass

Wed, 15 Aug 2018 12:00:00 GMT

About 80 percent of Earth's biomass is plant life, with humans about equal to krill way down the heft chart.

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Solar Eclipse of 2017 Boosted Science Interest

Tue, 14 Aug 2018 16:12:00 GMT

The Michigan Scientific Literacy Survey of 2017 found that last year's total solar eclipse got Americans more interested in celestial science.

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Crickets Carve Tools to Amplify Their Chirps

Tue, 14 Aug 2018 01:40:00 GMT

The insects fashion and use "baffles"—sound controllers—made of leaves to produce sound more efficiently. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Computerized Chemical Toxicity Prediction Beats Animal Testing

Sat, 11 Aug 2018 01:24:00 GMT

Researchers programmed a computer to compare structures and toxic effects of different chemicals, making it possible to then predict the toxicity of new chemicals based on their structural similarity to known ones.

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Better Data Could Mean Better Dating

Fri, 10 Aug 2018 04:00:00 GMT

Both men and women tended to pursue mates just 25 percent more desirable than themselves — suggesting they are "optimistic realists." Christopher Intagliata reports.

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To Evolve Baleen, Lose Your Teeth First

Thu, 09 Aug 2018 01:18:00 GMT

Whale ancestors probably never had teeth and baleen at the same time, and only developed baleen after trying toothlessness and sucking in prey.

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Corn Variety Grabs Fertilizer from the Air

Tue, 07 Aug 2018 19:01:00 GMT

A variety of corn from Oaxaca, Mexico, has aerial roots that harbor nitrogen-fixing bacteria, allowing the corn to suck nitrogen straight from the air. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Birds Learn Safety from Other Kinds of Birds

Fri, 03 Aug 2018 02:05:00 GMT

Birds become good at avoiding danger by eavesdropping on the alarm calls of other birds—and the learning occurs without even seeing their peers or predators. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Microbes Share Your Morning Metro Commute

Thu, 02 Aug 2018 01:45:00 GMT

An analysis of the Hong Kong metro found microbes, including some with antibiotic resistance genes, freshly disperse throughout the system each day. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Oh Say Can You See Subtle Details?

Wed, 01 Aug 2018 00:08:00 GMT

Different people have differing aptitudes for observing small changes and particular features.

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Some Crows Hit On Dead Companions

Tue, 31 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMT

About 5 percent of crows will attempt to copulate with other crows that have joined the choir invisible .

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Mouth Sets Healing Standard

Mon, 30 Jul 2018 03:00:00 GMT

Certain proteins that coordinate the healing response are present at higher levels in oral tissue—meaning wounds in the mouth fix faster. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Border Wall Could Disrupt Hundreds of Species

Thu, 26 Jul 2018 19:00:00 GMT

More than 2,500 scientists signed a letter saying that an expanded U.S.–Mexico border wall would threaten both biodiversity and scientific research. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Turn a Wall into a Touch Screen Cheap

Thu, 26 Jul 2018 02:53:00 GMT

Researchers used a couple of hundred dollars worth of materials to turn a wall into a giant touch screen

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Ancient Tooth Tartar Traps Clues to Iron Age Diet

Tue, 24 Jul 2018 16:00:00 GMT

By analyzing the proteins in ancient dental plaque, archaeologists determined that British menus almost three millennia ago featured milk, oats and peas. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Honey Bee Alarm Signal Could Protect Elephants

Mon, 23 Jul 2018 16:01:00 GMT

Chemicals designed to simulate honeybee alarm pheromones could deter elephants from farmers' crops, easing conflicts with humans. Annie Sneed reports.

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Sea Level Rise Could Inundate the Internet

Fri, 20 Jul 2018 19:00:00 GMT

Extreme sea level rise could swamp internet cabling and hubs by 2033—and coastal cities like New York, Seattle and Miami are at greatest risk. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Astronomy Tool Helps ID Sharks

Fri, 20 Jul 2018 01:41:00 GMT

Shark researchers used a system for recognizing patterns in star field photographs to identify whale sharks, which have individual spot patterns.

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Mammals Moonlight around Human Settlements

Thu, 19 Jul 2018 03:22:00 GMT

A study of human–mammal interaction across the globe found animals are more prone to take to the night around humans. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Jupiter's Moon Total Hits 79

Tue, 17 Jul 2018 15:02:00 GMT

The International Astronomical Union reports that there are now 79 known Jovian moons, with a dozen found last year.

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Moths Evade Bats with Slight of Wing

Tue, 17 Jul 2018 01:00:00 GMT

Some moth species have evolved long wing tails that flutter and twist as the moth flies, which distract hungry bats. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Science News You Might Have Missed

Sat, 14 Jul 2018 00:11:00 GMT

Very brief reports about science and technology from around the globe.

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Smart Mouth Guard Senses Muscle Fatigue

Fri, 13 Jul 2018 01:02:00 GMT

A prototype flexible electronic mouth guard can measure lactate levels in an athlete's saliva, tracking muscle fatigue during training and performance.

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Favorite Wine Grapes May Need Genetic Help

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 02:19:00 GMT

Wine book author Kevin Begos explains that just a few varieties of wine grapes dominate the industry, which leaves them vulnerable to potentially catastrophic disease outbreaks.

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Iridescence Could Help Critters Hide in Plain Sight

Sat, 07 Jul 2018 02:50:00 GMT

Iridescence appears to break up the recognizable shape of objects—making them harder to spot. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Primate Conflicts Play Out in the Operating Room

Thu, 05 Jul 2018 21:10:00 GMT

By analyzing 200 surgeries, anthropologists found mixed-gender operating room teams exhibited the highest levels of cooperation. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Sharks Make a Splash in Brooklyn

Thu, 05 Jul 2018 02:28:00 GMT

Visitors can see and learn about sharks and their environment in the new "Ocean Wonders: Sharks!" facility at the Wildlife Conservation Society's New York Aquarium.

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City Life Favors Downsized Invertebrates

Wed, 04 Jul 2018 00:35:00 GMT

Most invertebrates get smaller on average in cities, although a few very mobile species respond to urbanization by growing.

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People Ration Where They Roam

Tue, 03 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMT

An analysis of the movement of some 40,000 people suggests most of us frequent only 25 places—and as we sub in new favorites, we drop old ones. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Humans Can Size One Another Up with a Roar

Fri, 29 Jun 2018 01:20:00 GMT

Listeners to a person letting loose with a roar can accurately estimate the size and formidability or the human noise maker. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Piano Lessons Tune Up Language Skills

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 22:55:00 GMT

Six months of piano lessons can heighten kindergartners' brain responses to different pitches, and improve their ability to tell apart two similar-sounding words. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Cardinal Rule: Female Birds Sing, Too

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 04:46:00 GMT

Many people assume only male birds do the singing. But females also sing in at least 660 species and perhaps many more.

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Bird's Song Staying Power Implies Culture

Fri, 22 Jun 2018 22:15:00 GMT

Certain motifs in swamp sparrow songs can last hundreds, even thousands of years—evidence of a cultural tradition in the birds. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Alaskan Beluga Whales Ace Hearing Exam

Fri, 22 Jun 2018 04:55:00 GMT

Researchers tested the hearing of beluga whales in an Alaskan bay and found that they seem to have suffered little hearing loss due to ocean noise. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Fat–Carb Combo Is a Potent One–Two Punch

Wed, 20 Jun 2018 03:10:00 GMT

Foods high in both carbs and fats tickle the brain's reward circuits more so than snacks that showcase just one or the other. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Jupiter Crackles with Polar Lightning

Mon, 18 Jun 2018 00:15:00 GMT

Juno spacecraft data suggest lightning on Jupiter is much more common than we thought—but it congregates near the poles, not the equator as on Earth. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Coral Reefs Keep Costly Waves at Bay

Fri, 15 Jun 2018 18:15:00 GMT

A new analysis found the flood protection benefits of coral reefs save the global economy $4 billion dollars a year. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Hippo Dung Fouls Up Freshwater Fisheries

Fri, 15 Jun 2018 02:10:00 GMT

Hippo poop is piling up in Tanzania's freshwater fisheries—which is bad news for biodiversity, and deleterious for the dinner plate. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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A Litmus Test for Bad Breath

Thu, 14 Jun 2018 00:10:00 GMT

Researchers engineered a portable device that detects even the tiniest trace of hydrogen sulfide—one of the primary offenders in bad breath. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Prez (of AMA) Issues Call to Arms-Science

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 01:05:00 GMT

At the AMA annual meeting the organization's president petitioned for an evidence-based, science-driven analysis of gun violence and solutions.

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Powder Pulls Drinking Water from Desert Air

Fri, 08 Jun 2018 19:01:00 GMT

A structure known as a metal organic framework traps water vapor by night, then releases it when heated the next day. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Ancient Clan War Explains Genetic Diversity Drop

Wed, 06 Jun 2018 23:55:00 GMT

Some 5,000 to 7,000 years ago, the diversity of Y chromosomes plummeted. A new analysis suggests clan warfare may have been the cause. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Saying "This May Hurt" May Make It Worse

Wed, 06 Jun 2018 03:38:00 GMT

Warning a child that something, like a vaccine shot, will hurt can actually increase their perception of the pain.

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Mongooses Gift Grooming for Guard Duty

Sat, 02 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Humans and other primates often reciprocate good deeds. A new study suggests a nonprimate, the dwarf mongoose, does so, too, even after a delay. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Some Trees Beat Heat with Sweat

Thu, 31 May 2018 13:00:00 GMT

During extreme heat waves, a species of eucalyptus copes by releasing water and taking advantage of evaporative cooling. Other trees may do the same.

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Computers Go Head-to-Head with Humans on Face Recognition

Wed, 30 May 2018 17:30:00 GMT

The best facial-recognition algorithms are now as good as the best forensic examiners are. But the best results come by combining human and computer skills. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Pinnipeds Don't Appreciate Biped Disturbance

Wed, 30 May 2018 03:20:00 GMT

Sea lions and fur seals in Uruguay have become a tourist attraction—but the animals have become less, not more, accepting of humans. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Computers Predict Pop Chart Success

Fri, 25 May 2018 01:32:00 GMT

An evolutionary analysis of pop tunes revealed that over the past 30 years songs have grown sadder—but the big hits buck that trend. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Doc's YA Novel Treats Life-and-Death Issues

Wed, 23 May 2018 23:07:00 GMT

Pediatric cardiologist Ismée Williams discusses her young adult novel, Water in May, about a teenage girl whose newborn has a life-threatening heart condition.

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Google's AI Assistant Does Your Talk Tasks

Thu, 17 May 2018 20:38:00 GMT

The new Google AI voice assistant, called Duplex, highlights the intricacies of carrying out a mundane human-style conversation, as it keeps you off the phone.

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Great Ape Makes Good Doc

Wed, 16 May 2018 22:00:00 GMT

Orangutans were observed to use plant extracts to treat their own pain.

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Stool-Pigeon Poop Reveals Bird-Racing Fouls

Wed, 16 May 2018 02:20:00 GMT

Racing pigeons is big business—and doping is common. Now scientists have devised a way to detect doping in the avian athletes. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Radar Scans Detail North Korean Nukes

Tue, 15 May 2018 00:25:00 GMT

Scientists have added radar info to seismic data, isotope measurements and optical imagery to study covert nuclear tests. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Hunting Rules Have Changed Mama Bear Care

Sat, 12 May 2018 01:32:00 GMT

Hunting regulations in Sweden prohibit killing brown bear mothers in company of cubs—causing mama bears to care for their young longer. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Jupiter and Venus Squeeze Earth's Orbit

Thu, 10 May 2018 23:20:00 GMT

Sediment records have confirmed that Jupiter and Venus change Earth's orbit from virtually circular to noticeably elliptical and back every 405,000 years. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Mars Lander Will Peer Inside the Red Planet

Tue, 08 May 2018 01:46:00 GMT

The InSight Mission will look at Mars's seismic activity and latent heat to find out more about how planets get made--and how humans might live there.

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Plants Can Sense Animal Attack Coming

Mon, 07 May 2018 01:25:00 GMT

Tomato plants detected snail slime in soil near them and mounted preemptive defenses, even though they were not directly touched.

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Archaeologist Makes a Case for Seafaring Neandertals

Sat, 05 May 2018 00:50:00 GMT

Ancient tools on Mediterranean islands could predate the appearance of modern humans—suggesting Neandertals took to the seas. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Africa: Future Worldwide Science Hub

Thu, 03 May 2018 00:51:00 GMT

Thierry Zomahoun, president of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, talks about the potential and needs of science on the continent.

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Healthful Eating Requires Supermarket Smarts

Tue, 01 May 2018 04:23:00 GMT

Advice from an N.Y.U. food policy symposium: eating healthfully means you can't ever let down your guard when shopping.

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Culture Shapes Kids' Views of Nature

Sun, 29 Apr 2018 19:28:00 GMT

In a study of children interacting with toy animals Native American kids and non-Native kids imagined the animals very differently.

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Bad Audio Can Hurt a Scientist's Credibility

Sat, 28 Apr 2018 20:20:00 GMT

Listeners gave more credence to a scientist's radio interview when the audio was good quality than they did to the same material when the audio was poor. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Bill Gates Announces a Universal Flu Vaccine Effort

Fri, 27 Apr 2018 21:13:00 GMT

Today in Boston, Gates announced a $12-million initiative to foster the development of a vaccine effective against all flu strains.

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Drumming Beats Speech for Distant Communication

Wed, 25 Apr 2018 19:20:00 GMT

The Bora people in the northwestern Amazon use drums to send languagelike messages across long distances. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Bees Have a Goldilocks Lawn Mow Schedule

Tue, 24 Apr 2018 03:12:00 GMT

Lawns mowed every two weeks hosted more bees than lawns mowed every three weeks. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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If Singing's Tough, Try Whistling

Sat, 21 Apr 2018 17:00:00 GMT

A new study claims it's easier to accurately whistle a melody than to sing it. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Traffic Deaths Increase after 4:20 P.M. on 4/20

Thu, 19 Apr 2018 22:09:00 GMT

A look at a database of fatal traffic accidents found a 12 percent increase on the informal marijuana holiday 4/20 after 4:20 P.M. compared with nearby dates.

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NYC Mice Are Packed with Pathogens

Thu, 19 Apr 2018 03:20:00 GMT

Mice trapped in New York City apartment buildings harbored disease-causing bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Mine Social Media Posts to Predict Flu

Wed, 18 Apr 2018 00:02:00 GMT

Researchers used Twitter searches for nonflu words associated with behavior to predict flu outbreaks two weeks in advance.

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Planting Milkweed for Monarchs? Make Sure It's Native

Tue, 17 Apr 2018 02:15:00 GMT

Non-native milkweed species planted in the southern U.S. could harm monarch butterflies as temperatures rise. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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The Internet Needs a Tune-Up

Fri, 13 Apr 2018 23:38:00 GMT

Princeton University's Jennifer Rexford talks about optimizing the internet for the uses it got drafted into performing.

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Glacier Suddenly Goes Galloping

Thu, 12 Apr 2018 23:55:00 GMT

Researchers try to figure out why every 20 years a Pakistan glacier moves roughly 1,500 times faster.

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Some Habitable Zone Exoplanets May Get X-Rayed Out

Thu, 12 Apr 2018 00:21:00 GMT

Red dwarfs are a popular place to hunt for small exoplanets in the habitable zone—but the stars' radiation bursts might fry chances for life as we know it. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Right Whales Seem to Think before They Speak

Tue, 10 Apr 2018 01:00:00 GMT

Rather than always making the same call in response to the same stimuli, North Atlantic right whales are capable of changing their vocalizations.

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Old New England Underground May Be Spry after All

Sun, 08 Apr 2018 01:53:00 GMT

The U.S. Northeast may be more geologically active than was previously thought, according to a seismic sensor network.

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Brain Scan Might Reveal Appetite for Risk

Sat, 07 Apr 2018 04:40:00 GMT

Volunteers willing to place riskier bets tended to sport larger amygdalas—a region associated with processing fear. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Neandertal Face Shape Was All Over the Air

Wed, 04 Apr 2018 16:21:00 GMT

The jutting midface of Neandertals seems to have evolved to help get large volumes of air into an active body that needed lots of oxygen.

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Rev Up Photosynthesis to Boost Crop Yields

Tue, 03 Apr 2018 01:11:00 GMT

Photosynthesis actually is an inefficient process, but a biological chemist is trying to crank it up.

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13,000-Year-Old Footprints under West Coast Beach

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 17:44:00 GMT

Several feet below a beach in British Columbia, archaeologists discovered soil trampled by human feet—the oldest footprints found so far in North America. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Math Cracks a Knuckle-Cracking Mystery

Thu, 29 Mar 2018 14:01:00 GMT

The source of knuckle cracking sounds is much debated—but new mathematical models may reconcile two opposing views. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Rotting Flesh Offers Insight on Fossilization

Mon, 26 Mar 2018 20:42:00 GMT

To learn more about decay and fossilization, researchers conduct unorthodox experiments—like dissecting decomposing animals in the lab. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Ravens Crow with Individual Flair

Sat, 24 Mar 2018 02:40:00 GMT

Ravens produce different types of calls depending on their age and sex—which might help ravens size up other individuals. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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U.S. Flu Spread Counts On Southern Cold Snaps

Wed, 21 Mar 2018 22:07:00 GMT

A multifactorial analysis finds that the ignition of a flu epidemic stems from a blast of colder weather striking an otherwise warm, humid, urban environment, and driving people indoors into close quarters.

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Louise Slaughter Was Congress's Food Safety Champion

Wed, 21 Mar 2018 03:38:00 GMT

Upstate New York Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, who worked for decades on issues such as overuse of antibiotics in agriculture and food safety in general, died March 16 at the age of 88.

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Arctic Heat Waves Linked to Snowpocalypse-Like Storms

Mon, 19 Mar 2018 01:50:00 GMT

An analysis of more than six decades of daily temperature and snowfall data linked warmer arctic temperatures to cold snaps at lower latitudes. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Gut Parasites Have Their Own Gut Microbiomes

Fri, 16 Mar 2018 00:10:00 GMT

The whipworm lives in the human gut, mooching microbes from its host to build its own microbiome. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Drones Could Help Biologists Tally Birds

Tue, 13 Mar 2018 01:05:00 GMT

Counting by drone not only saves time and effort, but yields better data on species numbers—a definite plus in terms of conservation. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Saliva Protein Might Inhibit Intestinal Anarchy

Sat, 10 Mar 2018 19:41:00 GMT

A protein found in spit prevents bad bugs from binding to intestinal cells in the lab, pointing to a possible way to lower the chances of dysentery. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Searching the Heavens for Mountains

Fri, 09 Mar 2018 23:10:00 GMT

Exoplanet hunters are moving beyond simply finding new planets into trying to know what they look like and whether there's surface or subsurface activity.

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Human Echolocators Use Tricks Similar to Bats

Wed, 07 Mar 2018 03:30:00 GMT

People who use echolocating mouth clicks to compensate for low vision increase the number and intensity of clicks when objects are harder to detect. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Animal Coloration Can Serve Double Duty

Tue, 06 Mar 2018 03:53:00 GMT

The cinnabar moth caterpillar's coloration pattern warns predators close up, but camouflages the critter from a distance.

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Some Lichen Fungi Let Genes Go Bye

Fri, 02 Mar 2018 01:03:00 GMT

A study of 22 different types of lichens revealed 10 included fungi that had lost a gene for energy production, making them completely dependent on their algal partner.

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To See Gun Injury Drop, Hold an NRA Meeting

Wed, 28 Feb 2018 23:42:00 GMT

When the National Rifle Association holds its national convention, gun injuries drop 20 percent—perhaps because fewer gun owners are around their guns. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Big Cities Have Fewer Tweeters Per Capita

Tue, 27 Feb 2018 04:05:00 GMT

But those who do tweet in big cities are more prolific—tweeting more often, on average, than their small-town counterparts. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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How Baby Birds Learn to Duet

Fri, 23 Feb 2018 19:15:00 GMT

Recordings of songbird duets reveal baby birds learn conversational turn-taking like we do: gradually, and from adults. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Mosquitoes Learn the Smell of Danger

Thu, 22 Feb 2018 13:00:00 GMT

The bloodsuckers lose their appetite for attractive scents when they associate those aromas with a likelihood of being swatted. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Needed: Info on Biodiversity Change over Time

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:26:00 GMT

Understanding an ecosystem means following changes in the abundances and identities of the species present as the clock ticks. The BioTIME database should help.

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Undersea Recordings Reveal a Whale's Tale

Mon, 19 Feb 2018 16:40:00 GMT

By eavesdropping on the calls of blue whales, researchers hope to get a more accurate picture of the massive mammals' distribution and abundance. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Seabird Feathers Reveal Less-Resilient Ocean

Fri, 16 Feb 2018 01:50:00 GMT

By analyzing 130 years of seabird feathers, researchers determined that food webs are losing complexity in the Pacific—meaning less-resilient ecosystems. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Beetle Liberation Due to Regurgitation

Wed, 14 Feb 2018 03:26:00 GMT

The bombardier beetle can spray its hot brew of toxic chemicals even after bring swallowed, to force a predator into vomiting it back out.

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Old Trees Are Ecosystem Gold

Tue, 13 Feb 2018 00:08:00 GMT

David Lindenmayer of the Australian National University College of Science in Canberra says that older trees play outsize roles in maintaining landscapes and ecosystems.

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Boat Noise Means Fish Can't Learn Their Lessons

Sun, 11 Feb 2018 17:33:00 GMT

Damselfish had trouble learning to avoid predators, when that lesson was accompanied by a soundtrack of buzzing boat engines. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Woodpeckers Drum to Their Own Tunes

Wed, 07 Feb 2018 19:01:00 GMT

The length and spacing of woodpecker drum rolls varies enough to tell woodpeckers apart—which could be useful to conservation biologists. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Homebodies Economize on Energy Use

Tue, 06 Feb 2018 23:45:00 GMT

Today's work-from-home, on-demand culture means more days at home—and translates into greater energy savings, too. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Killer Whale Culture Revealed by Mimicking Us

Sat, 03 Feb 2018 03:00:00 GMT

Orcas can imitate calls from other whales and even human speech—suggesting they can transmit cultural practices, such as unique dialects. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Holiday Cheer Leads to Birth-Rate Spike

Fri, 02 Feb 2018 04:46:00 GMT

During feel-good holiday periods like Christmas and Eid-al-Fitr, romance strikes—leading to a boom in births nine months later. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Ticks on Uptick Where Big Game Declines

Thu, 01 Feb 2018 04:55:00 GMT

Areas of Kenya without large wildlife saw tick populations rise as much as 370 percent—meaning more danger to humans. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Wildfires Spike Wine with Smoky Notes

Tue, 30 Jan 2018 23:53:00 GMT

Chemists are working on ways for wildfire-affected winemakers to avoid creating smoky wines. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Lion Conservation Challenges Giraffe Protection

Fri, 26 Jan 2018 22:49:00 GMT

Having lions and giraffes together in protected areas means far lower survival rates for juvenile giraffes. Jason Goldman reports.

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Nobelist Crafts Light-Switchable Antibiotics

Fri, 26 Jan 2018 00:33:00 GMT

Drugs modified by chemistry Nobel laureate Ben Feringa can be turned on and off by light, which could help keep bacteria from developing antibiotic resistance.

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Catching Flu Also Boosts Heart Risk

Thu, 25 Jan 2018 03:55:00 GMT

Researchers found a sixfold increase in heart attacks in patients in the week following a flu. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Worldwide Effort Says Together Science Can

Tue, 23 Jan 2018 20:22:00 GMT

Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, talked about worldwide scientific collaboration today at the World Economic Forum.

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Canada Geese Taking a Winter Staycation

Mon, 22 Jan 2018 22:32:00 GMT

The geese are wintering farther and farther north, in urban areas like Chicago—which may help them avoid hunters. Emily Schwing reports.

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Moon's Tug Doesn't Cause Big Quakes

Sat, 20 Jan 2018 02:30:00 GMT

An analysis of more than 200 earthquakes over the past four centuries concludes there's no connection between moon phases and big earthquakes. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Social Media Helps ID Spew Source

Fri, 19 Jan 2018 02:46:00 GMT

Surveillance of Yelp restaurant reviews for terms like vomit led researchers to the sources of foodborne illness outbreaks. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Salmonella Could Have Caused 16th-Century Epidemic

Thu, 18 Jan 2018 02:50:00 GMT

Using a new algorithm, geneticists uncovered the pathogen that could have caused a massive epidemic in the Aztec empire: Salmonella bacteria. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Which Came First, the Proboscis or the Flower?

Sat, 13 Jan 2018 03:35:00 GMT

A new fossil find reveals that the sucking tongue of butterflies—or proboscis—appears to have evolved before the emergence of flowers. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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You Live in a Strange Solar System

Thu, 11 Jan 2018 01:30:00 GMT

Astronomers found that other star systems tend to host similarly sized exoplanets—far different from ours. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Glow Sticks Help Ecologists Study Amphibians

Wed, 10 Jan 2018 00:27:00 GMT

Ecologists needed a way to more easily keep track of populations of amphibians, and green glow sticks lit the way.

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Air Force Tracks Final Frontier

Thu, 04 Jan 2018 00:48:00 GMT

General Jay Raymond, Commander of Air Force Space Command, talks about keeping watch over space and cyber.

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You Traveled Far Last Year

Wed, 03 Jan 2018 01:33:00 GMT

Getting around the sun in 2017 was a memorable trip.

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Finches Can Learn to Sing Differently Than Their Genetics Dictate

Sat, 30 Dec 2017 03:50:00 GMT

The song training that Bengalese finches received appeared to overcome tempo tendencies baked into their genes. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Baby Bats Can Learn Different Dialects

Fri, 29 Dec 2017 03:10:00 GMT

Fruit bats raised hearing different pitches of sounds vocalized in keeping with their aural environment as they matured.

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Mongoose Societies Are Skeptical of Strangers

Sun, 24 Dec 2017 23:10:00 GMT

It takes months for members of a mongoose breeding society to trust newcomers with important tasks like watching for predators. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Pain and Weather Fail to Connect

Sun, 24 Dec 2017 03:46:00 GMT

A big data analysis involving more than 1.5 million patients could find no relationship between weather and complaints to doctors about joint or back pain.

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Finding Further Places for Solar Panels

Sat, 23 Dec 2017 03:10:00 GMT

Siting solar panels over rooftops, parking lots, reservoirs and contaminated land could generate heaps of energy—with minimal effects on agriculture or the environment. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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This Fish Emits Damaging Decibels

Thu, 21 Dec 2017 00:45:00 GMT

The Gulf corvina produces a chattering chorus that's one of the loudest underwater animal sounds on the planet. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Repetitive Sounds Are Music to the Brain

Tue, 19 Dec 2017 01:52:00 GMT

Repeating something can render that thing melodious—even the sound of a shovel being dragged across the pavement. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Radiation Might Help Heart Regain Its Rhythm

Sun, 17 Dec 2017 23:45:00 GMT

A flash of radiation drastically reduced arrhythmia in a small group of patients, for at least a year after treatment. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Dark Fiber Networks Can Sense Seismicity

Sat, 16 Dec 2017 00:40:00 GMT

Scientists are exploring the use of fiber-optic cables—like the ones that form the backbone of the internet—to monitor earthquakes. Julia Rosen reports.

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Supermarket Snacking Boosts Sales

Fri, 15 Dec 2017 02:00:00 GMT

Noshing while shopping convinces consumers to buy the featured product more often than does simply seeing end-of-aisle displays. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Something Clicks for Dolphin Identification

Thu, 14 Dec 2017 02:48:00 GMT

Machine-learning algorithms teased seven distinct dolphin clicking patterns from a library of more than 50 million clicks, identifying one species by sound alone. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Nutrition Guidelines Healthy for the Planet, Too

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 20:55:00 GMT

Following dietary guidelines would mean eating less meat and dairy—and fewer calories overall—reducing greenhouse gases and other pollution. Julia Rosen reports.

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Invading Beavers Turn Tundra to Ponds

Mon, 11 Dec 2017 20:58:00 GMT

New beaver ponds in the Arctic may contribute to the destruction of the permafrost that holds that landscape together.

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Sharks Rule the Reef's Underwater Food Chain

Sun, 10 Dec 2017 20:00:00 GMT

When sharks prowl shallow waters, fish quit foraging and hide—sparing seaweed from being grazed in those areas. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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Ancient Women Had Awesome Arms

Sun, 10 Dec 2017 04:42:00 GMT

For thousands of years, women in agricultural societies seem to have had arms stronger than members of modern rowing teams.

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Invasive Frogs Don't Bug Hawaiian Birds

Fri, 08 Dec 2017 22:15:00 GMT

Coquí frogs are invasive species in Hawaii. But they don't seem to bug the islands' native and nonnative birds. Jason G. Goldman reports.

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How Hospitals Can Dampen the Decibels

Fri, 08 Dec 2017 01:45:00 GMT

Hospitals consistently score low on quietness surveys. An acoustician suggests a few ways hospitals could keep the peace and quiet. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Smarter Management Means More Inventions Get to Market

Wed, 06 Dec 2017 20:40:00 GMT

Rosemarie Truman, CEO of the Center for Advancing Innovation, says a better system of governance for federally funded inventions could lead to many more good ones becoming commercialized.

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Computers Learn to Use Sound to Find Ships

Wed, 06 Dec 2017 03:48:00 GMT

Researchers trained machine-learning algorithms to pinpoint the location of a cargo ship simply by eavesdropping on the sound of its passing. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Yeti Claims Don't Bear Up

Mon, 04 Dec 2017 04:57:00 GMT

Analysis of alleged yeti samples found them to be from less fantastic beasts, such as bears, but also shed light on the evolution of those local bear populations.

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Republican Voters Not in Denial about Climate

Sat, 02 Dec 2017 00:45:00 GMT

An analysis of voter opinions finds that half of Republican voters think climate change is happening, and would support regulating CO2 as a pollutant. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Tech Honcho Wants Innovation for the Bottom Billion

Fri, 01 Dec 2017 01:55:00 GMT

At the World Conference of Science Journalists in October, Nathan Myhrvold, co-founder of Intellectual Ventures, charged innovation outfits with changing the lives of the world's most disadvantaged.

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Bumper Stickers Make Highways More Social

Thu, 30 Nov 2017 02:19:00 GMT

A social scientist studies how car stickers turn the roads into actual information highways.

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Chimps Able to Apprehend Another Chimp's Mind-Set

Tue, 28 Nov 2017 00:37:00 GMT

By listening to the calls of their brethren, chimps seem to be able to understand the mind-sets and perspectives of other chimps. Jason Goldman reports.

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Even without Hands Honeybees Show Handedness

Mon, 27 Nov 2017 03:40:00 GMT

About half the honeybees in a test exhibited no sidedness, but the other half was split 50–50 between righties and lefties—perhaps to navigate obstacles more efficiently.

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Humpback Whale Flippers Do More Than Maneuver

Sun, 26 Nov 2017 03:45:00 GMT

Researchers attached cameras to humpback whales and found that they flap their flippers to help power forward swimming.

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A New Recipe for Counting Cranberries

Thu, 23 Nov 2017 01:30:00 GMT

Estimating cranberry harvests involves tedious hand-counting. But microwave analysis could change all that. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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How Fit Is Bitcoin?

Wed, 22 Nov 2017 00:50:00 GMT

A new analysis treats bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies as species in an evolutionary model—and finds bitcoin has no selective advantage. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Salmon Sex Changes Entire Landscape

Mon, 20 Nov 2017 23:44:00 GMT

Salmon excavate streambed holes in which to lay eggs, setting off a chain of events that has surprisingly large geographical effects.

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Ancient 1 Percenters Were Beast-Based

Fri, 17 Nov 2017 23:20:00 GMT

New World societies long ago likely had less income inequality than those in the Old World, and the difference might have been an oxen gap. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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