How humans got a new gene that makes our brains larger
Enlarge / Building a bigger brain requires new genes, not a workout. On the DNA level, there's not much to distinguish humans from our closest relatives: chimpanzees and bonobos. At stretches of DNA that line up, human and chimp sequences are well over 90 percent identical. And, for the most part, the DNA does line…
Up close and personal: Dolphin POV caught on camera while hunting...
Enlarge / "I spy with my dolphin eye... something that looks like prey!" There's rarely time to write about every cool science-y story that comes our way. So this year, we're once again running a special Twelve Days of Christmas series of posts, highlighting one science story that fell through the cracks in 2022, each…
Maybe Edward the Black Prince didn’t die from chronic dysentery after...
Enlarge / Effigy of Edward of Woodstock, aka the Black Prince, in Canterbury Cathedral. There's rarely time to write about every cool science-y story that comes our way. So this year, we're once again running a special Twelve Days of Christmas series of posts, highlighting one science story that fell through the cracks in 2022,…
Up close and personal: Dolphin POV caught on camera while hunting...
Enlarge / "I spy with my dolphin eye... something that looks like prey!" There's rarely time to write about every cool science-y story that comes our way. So this year, we're once again running a special Twelve Days of Christmas series of posts, highlighting one science story that fell through the cracks in 2022, each…
Bees like to roll little wooden balls as a form of...
Enlarge / This bee seems to having a grand old time rolling this colored wooden ball.Samadi Galpayage There's rarely time to write about every cool science-y story that comes our way. So this year, we're once again running a special Twelve Days of Christmas series of posts, highlighting one science story that fell through the…
Photos show how cats see the world compared to humans
The biggest difference between human vision and cat vision is in the retina. Cats can't detect colors as well as humans do, nor can they see as far. But cats do have a superior ability to see in the dark compared to humans. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics…
5 of the wildest experiments tardigrades have survived in the name...
Tardigrades are hardy microscopic creatures known for their ability to withstand extreme conditions. Water bears can go years without food or water and endure extreme radiation and temperatures. From blasting off to space to being fired from a gun, they've served science in explosive ways. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your…
Your next pour-over may be Liberica or excelsa
Diana Gitig Coffee is uniquely vulnerable to climate change. It grows in tropical regions, where temperatures and rainfall are becoming increasingly erratic; it is grown by small farms, which do not have the resources available to weather the coming literal and figurative storms; and despite the fact that coffee is among the most highly traded…
Scientists discover a new supergroup of rare single-celled predators
Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Back in the day, taxonomists had to characterize organisms based basically on how they looked. Molecular phylogeny changed that; once scientists could isolate and amplify DNA, they started classifying organisms based on their genetic sequences. But that still usually required that the organisms be cultured (and thus culturable) in a…
Officials, experts call for masking as illnesses slam US ahead of...
Enlarge / Commuters in a subway in New York on October 25, 2022. Health officials and experts are renewing calls for masking as respiratory illnesses surge and Americans prepare for holidays. RSV infections in children appear to be cresting nationally after overwhelming children's hospitals for weeks, but they remain unseasonably high. Influenza-like illnesses also remain…
