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"Hobbit" creature shows life evolved quickly after dinosaur extinction

Tolkien would be proud.

COVID vaccines saved at least 140,000 lives as of early May

The vast majority of current COVID hospitalizations and deaths are among unvaccinated people.

Leaky pipes in Baltimore are funneling a lot of pharmaceuticals into local waterways

The paper illustrates how outsized an effect old or damaged infrastructure can have on our environment.

Archaeologists find best-preserved human remains in Pompeii

The remains of the former slave turned high-ranking priest are so well preserved they retained white hair and even a piece of an ear.

Temperature extremes on both ends impair bees' flight, raising new concerns about climate change

At higher temperatures, bees simply can't fly.

Aspirin could become a potential treatment against breast cancer

The cheap and iconic drug could improve chemotherapy in patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

Physics sheds light on the 20-second handwashing rule. Here's why it's so effective

A fluid dynamics model explains what happens to potentially harmful particles during handwashing.

Russia says US astronaut intentionally damaged the ISS to come home early-- the US is having none of it

Grab the space popcorn, 'cause the soap opera has just started.

Submersible robots help us better understand ocean health and carbon flows

Good bots.

Potential new treatment for drug-resistant depression identified in mice -- blocking histamines in the brain

This is the same molecule involved in allergies, but anti-allergy drugs don’t cut it.

Our cities are making mammals bigger

City-dwelling mammals have grown both larger and heavier than their rural counterparts over the last 80 years. According to researchers, this is mainly due to the readily available large quantities of food available and lack of predators in sprawling urban environments. City mammals are fatter These findings were surprising. Theoretically, climate is a very important […]

With Delta surging, it's time to talk about upgrading masks

Cloth masks just don't cut it anymore.

Scientists calculate Pi down to 62.8 trillion digits, set new record

That's a bit overkill.

We just lived through the Earth's hottest month on record

... the hottest month so far!

Just 5% of the world's power plants produce 73% of the global electricity emissions

These hyper-pollutors are truly atrocious.

Falcons use 'natural makeup' to improve their hunting success

The species' dark 'eyeliner' acts as a sun shield to improve the birds' hunting ability, a new study suggests.

3D-printed components are now in use at US nuclear plant

The technology is no longer just for gifts and gadgets -- it's reliable enough to be used for nuclear energy.

Feisty bees make more potent venom, which makes for better medicine

Temperature and geographical location of the hive also have an effect.

A year and a half in the pandemic, where do we stand on COVID-19 treatments?

Vaccines are the way out of the pandemic. But having access to effective treatments can also save many lives.

Blue hydrogen is worse for climate than fossil fuels, study finds

It’s usually touted as a clean energy source, but that may not be the case

How your labrador's yellow coat may shed secrets about canine evolution

Hundreds of dog breeds share five distinct coat patterns, whose genes originated more than two million years ago in the extinct ancestor of dogs and wolves.

Researchers find out why sunflowers always face east

It's all about reproduction.

"Harmonic surprise": the secret sauce of chart-topping music

There's a reason why hit songs for every decade sound so different.

Bronze artifact indicates Romans threw enemies to the lions across their empire, even as far as Britain

It's the first evidence of an execution by wild animals in Roman Britain.

Scientists engineer 'daddy shortlegs' to better understand spiders

Though not technically spiders, the daddy longlegs genome could be key to understanding arachnid evolution.

Odds of asteroid Bennu hitting the Earth are greater than we thought. Here's why you shouldn't worry

... because the overall odds are still very low.

World's largest battery manufacturer bets big on sodium-ion batteries

They're much cheaper and environmentally friendly than lithium-ion batteries.

Researchers crack the mystery of why pistachio shells are so tough

It's not what you think.

Apes signal 'hello' and 'farewell' when starting and exiting social interactions

Our closest living relatives on the tree of life may also exhibit complex social cues that are paramount to joint commitment.

Neanderthal and Denisovan had human-like blood groups

The study supports the idea that Neanderthals and Denisovans also emerged from Africa, but also shows their demographic fragility.

Moderna is better than Pfizer against the Delta variant

Fully vaccinated people can still get infected with SARS-CoV-2, but their risk of hospitalization and death is very low.

These are the key findings of the IPCC climate report -- region by region

From droughts to flooding, every region of the planet is experiencing different consequences from the climate crisis, but no part is spared. In the new report, climate experts grouped under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) looked at the already visible and the upcoming climate effects, likely to soon aggravate as temperature rises. The […]

Men could significantly outnumber women within decades -- and this is a problem

Researchers anticipate an even larger deficit of female births

The Olympian period -- the effect of menstruation on female athletes performance

How athletic performance changes with the menstrual cycle.

Strongest glass in the world can scratch diamonds

AM-III also works as a semiconductor, allowing it to transfer electrical current.

African scientists used CRISPR to edit bananas and make them more resilient to disease

A parasite is coming for our bananas -- but science is here to stop it.

It's totally our fault: Humans "unequivocally" causing global warming

It's our last chance to transform the economy and prevent catastrophic climate damage.

Permanent hearing loss may not be so permanent after all -- in mice, for now

In the future, it may be able to regenerate hair cells that restore hearing through drug therapies and gene editing.

How global warming causes both extreme heat and cold weather

Extreme heat and cold may arise from the same underlying mechanisms, with global warming as the common denominator.

Biden administration extends the student loan repayment delay

A sigh of relief for students -- but student loan relief will definitively end in January.

A new IPCC report on climate change is coming. What should we expect?

It will be a wake up call for governments, urging them to act on the climate crisis

High cholesterol drug could reduce SARS-CoV-2 infection by 70%

The licensed drug treats high cholesterol in the blood and may also work in treating COVID-19 patients.

Gruesome horde of thousands of animal bones leftovers from hyenas, including those from humans, found in Saudi Arabia

Researchers found gnaw marks on most of the bones pointing to striped hyenas.

Pesticides, parasites, hunger -- bees worldwide are dying faster than we thought, other pollinators might be too

They're definitely not having a buzzing good time.

Why Stonehenge megaliths stay up after 5,000 years -- it's all geology

A long-lost piece from the monument brought some answers

People who harbor conspiracy theories are willing to get the vaccine -- as long as their friends do, too

It only works for those who have a somewhat conspiracy mindset. Those with entrenched views are less likely to get the vaccine no matter what.

Biochar can help us keep climate change at bay and more food on the table, according to a new meta-study

I’m always down with more food and fewer heatwaves.

Bottled water is 3,500 times worse for the environment than tap water -- at least in Barcelona

Researchers calculated the impact for the city of Barcelona

Machu Picchu is even older than we thought

The stone palace may have been in use from 1420 to 1530.

Unprocessed plant-based food keeps your heart healthier at any age

Fewer burgers, more broccoli.