Fossils and ancient DNA paint a vibrant picture of human origins
In The Descent of Man, published in 1871, Charles Darwin hypothesized that our ancestors came from Africa. He pointed out that among all animals,...
SCIENTIFIC NEWS
Potty-trained cattle could help reduce pollution
You can lead a cow to a water closet, but can you make it pee there? It turns out that yes, you can. Researchers...
Mary Roach’s new book ‘Fuzz’ explores the ‘criminal’ lives of animals
Fuzz Mary RoachW.W. Norton & Co., $26.95 Around the world, criminals run free in the forest. These villains can’t be arrested — because they’re...
How AI can help forecast how much Arctic sea ice will shrink
In the next week or so, the sea ice floating atop the Arctic Ocean will shrink to its smallest size this year, as summer-warmed...
A supernova’s delayed reappearance could pin down how fast the universe expands
A meandering trek taken by light from a remote supernova in the constellation Cetus may help researchers pin down how fast the universe expands...
A beautiful oak leaf portrait won the 2021 Nikon Small World photography contest
A closeup view of even the most common objects can make the mundane look spectacular. A glimpse of the underside of a southern live...
NASA’s Perseverance rover snagged its first Martian rock samples
The Perseverance rover has captured its first two slices of Mars. NASA’s latest Mars rover drilled into a flat rock nicknamed Rochette on September...
50 years ago, chemical pollutants were linked to odd animal behavior
Sea life’s chemical senses Science News, September 18, 1971 For fish and other underwater life, a sensitivity to chemicals plays the same role as...
A newfound boa sports big eyes and a square nose
A wide-eyed snake has made scientists do a double take. The Hispaniolan vineboa, with its large protruding eyes and square snout, is the first...
Infants may laugh like some apes in their first months of life
Babies may laugh like some apes a few months after birth before transitioning to chuckling more like human adults, a new study finds. Laughter...
Newborn screening for cancer risk could save lives. Should it be done? 
World marks second warmest July on record 
Ebola deaths top 2,000 as scientists race to develop vaccine 
South Sudan: UN mission decries deadly attacks, works to calm tensions after ‘nothing but devastation’