Nuclear bomb tests help determine age of largest fish on Earth
Nuclear bomb tests during the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s have helped scientists accurately estimate the age of whale sharks, the biggest...
Scientists discover two brand new sharks in the Indian Ocean
Not one, but TWO new species of the rarely seen six-gilled sawsharks have been found in the West Indian Ocean by an international team...
Why monkeys choose to drink alone
Why do some people almost always drop $10 in the Salvation Army bucket and others routinely walk by?
One answer may be found in an...
I’ve always wondered: who would win in a fight between the Black Mamba and...
Who would win in a fight between the Black Mamba and the Inland Taipan? – Biswajit Tripathy
Dear Biswajit,
What a fascinating question!
Before we start talking...
One-third of plant and animal species could be gone in 50 years
Accurately predicting biodiversity loss from climate change requires a detailed understanding of what aspects cause extinctions, and what mechanisms may allow species to survive.
A...
When frogs die off, snake diversity plummets
Since 1998, scientists have documented the global loss of amphibians.
More than 500 amphibian species have declined in numbers, including 90 that have gone extinct,...
What we learn from a fish that can change sex in just 10 days
The bluehead wrasse is a fish that lives in small social groups in coral reefs in the Caribbean.
Only the male has a blue head...
How do sea stars move without a brain? The answer could impact robotics and...
Have you ever seen a sea star move?
To many of us, sea star seem motionless, like a rock on the ocean’s floor, but in...
New dog, old tricks? Stray dogs can understand human cues
If you have a dog, hopefully you're lucky enough to know that they are highly attuned to their owners and can readily understand a...
Why are giant pandas born so tiny?
Born pink, blind, and helpless, giant pandas typically weigh about 100 grams at birth -- the equivalent of a stick of butter.
Their mothers are...
Latest News
Tiny robots could swim through the body and deliver drugs to tumors
Tiny biohybrid robots on the micrometer scale can swim through the body and deliver drugs to tumors or provide other cargo-carrying functions.
The natural environmental...
This compound in common vegetables may help fight fatty liver disease
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, occurs when the liver becomes “marbled” with fat, sometimes due to unhealthy nutrition, such as excessive intake of...
Common arthritis drug linked to higher skin cancer risk
Methotrexate is a common drug with a long history; for the past 40 years, it’s been used to treat a range of diseases.
Today it...
Mindfulness may benefit people with common bowel diseases
In a new study, researchers found that people with irritable bowel syndrome experienced fewer gut symptoms after they participated in a mindfulness program meant...
Whether marijuana could reduce pain is unclear, new study shows
In a new study, researchers found that medical marijuana users who say they have high levels of pain are more likely than those with...
Slow walking at age 45 may be a sign of faster aging
In a new study, researchers found that how fast people walk can be used as an indicator of how fast they are aging.
They found...