How long do civilizations last
It is one of the most famous questions in science, and it was asked, as legend has it, over lunch.
Enrico Fermi, the physicist who...
Why your dog tries to help and your cat just watches
If you’ve ever lost something at home, you may have noticed a funny difference between your pets.
Your dog might rush over, sniff around, and...
Scientists discover how a key protein opens tiny holes in our cells
Inside the human body, countless microscopic processes keep us alive and functioning.
Fluids move, gases are exchanged, and charged particles flow in and out of...
Jupiter’s icy moons may have been born with the ingredients for life
Scientists have found new evidence that Jupiter’s largest moons may have received the chemical building blocks of life at the moment they formed.
The discovery...
Could the world’s smallest possum be living on the Yorke Peninsula
A tiny, threatened marsupial not known to have inhabited South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula may exist as a relict population and still be clinging to...
What bonobos’ intimate rhythm can teach us about the origins of music and speech
Scientists studying bonobos, one of humanity’s closest living relatives, have uncovered surprising clues about how rhythm and communication may have evolved.
By analyzing the timing...
Dogs’ gut bacteria may hold clues to surviving cancer
A dog’s chances of surviving cancer may depend partly on the tiny organisms living inside its digestive system, according to a new study from...
Utah’s “soda pop” geysers may hold clues to life on distant ocean worlds
In the dry desert of eastern Utah, strange geysers shoot cold, fizzy water into the air.
Instead of boiling like the famous hot geysers in...
Humans are built for nature not modern life, study finds
A new study by two evolutionary experts, Colin Shaw from the University of Zurich and Daniel Longman from Loughborough University, suggests that many modern...
How an ancient ocean floor turned Arkansas into a shark foss treasure
More than 300 million years ago, much of what is now Arkansas lay beneath a shallow sea.
Today, that ancient seafloor has made the region...