Technology

Rodents may have a rule of thumbnails. Many rodents have curved claws that help the animals climb or dig. But most also have flat nails on their thumbs, researchers report in the Sept. 4 Science. This feature may help the…

We may not be living through Earth’s sixth mass extinction event ­­— at least not yet. That’s the conclusion of a new analysis of plant and animal extinctions published September 4 in PLOS Biology. The researchers propose that…

Researchers found that fruit fly sperm push against one another and align in orderly bundles, preventing knots that could block reproduction.

Washington: Indian American Amit Kshatriya has been named the new associate administrator of the US space agency NASA, the top civil service role within the organisation. The announcement was made on Wednesday by Acting NASA Administrator…

Venice’s famous bronze statue of a winged lion, which stands atop a pedestal in St. Mark’s Square, took an intercontinental trip to Italy. This symbol of medieval Venetian statehood started out as a tomb guardian sculpture in…

Scientists have gotten their closest-ever view of the denizens that inhabit a frigid underworld.  An analysis of the genetic blueprints of nearly 1,400 microbes sampled from one buried Antarctic lake reveals that these…

Cuban brown anoles have the highest blood lead levels of any vertebrate known — three times that of the previous record holder, the Nile crocodile.

McKenzie Prillaman is a science and health journalist based in Washington, DC. She holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in science communication from the University of…

THERE ARE many things that fall foul of Robert F. Kennedy junior, America’s health secretary, and his vocal supporters. One that really upsets them, and some wellness influencers, is seed oils. In their telling, the oils are “toxic” and…

An antidote for carbon monoxide poisoning could come from bacteria. Mice treated with a tweaked version of a bacterial protein rapidly cleared carbon monoxide from their blood, safely eliminating it through urine, researchers…

A recent bout of the common cold may be a defense against a COVID-19 infection. A study that included the nasal swabs of more than 1,000 participants assessed whether infections with common respiratory viruses — including…

In a first, astronomers imaged a baby planet within a gap in the disk of material around a star, confirming predictions about how rings form.

Technology to create ‘mirror life’ does not exist yet, and it may be quite some time before humankind cracks it, but the potential destruction it could bring is so enormous, that scientists are already calling for a ban before it is too…

Two key gene variants may have made early domesticated horses more tame and more physically resilient to bearing a rider, researchers report August 28 in Science. The resulting horses were among the most significant advances in…

Toxic pollutants from a Southern California river are infiltrating the air. Polluted water surging along a turbulent section of the Tijuana River in San Diego can release toxic gases, including hydrogen sulfide, into the air,…

In late August 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast. The storm cut a deadly swath through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, deluging coastal towns as surges of ocean water swept relentlessly ashore, driven by…

A sugar present on virus envelopes might become the target of new antiviral treatments for a range of viruses, researchers report August 27 in Science Advances. This treatment, shown to shut down infections of Ebola, Nipah,…

Like wine and cheese, chocolate has terroir, a sense of the place it was grown. Each bonbon or bar may carry unique flavors shaped by the soil, rainfall and temperature of the farm. But much of that flavor variation comes from…

In a significant milestone for its Starship program, SpaceX completed a critical test flight on Tuesday, with both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage executing controlled splashdowns in their target regions. The test…

As cats age, they may yowl more than usual at night, have trouble sleeping or sleep too much, and act generally confused or disoriented. Now a new study shows that, just like in humans with Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid-beta…

Many useful metals unearthed from U.S. mines are discarded. When mining operations dig for valuable metals, they often exhume ore containing other metals too. These by-product elements are usually treated as waste, but…

A strange and mysterious extinct dog breed from far southern South America might not have been a dog at all.  The “Fuegian dogs” that lived with the Indigenous peoples of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago were semi-tame culpeos,…

Scientists have, for the first time, transplanted a genetically engineered pig lung into a human. The lung tissue remained alive for nine days after the transplant despite early signs of inflammation, researchers report August…

NEW DELHI: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted its first Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-01), marking a key milestone in the preparation for India's ambitious Gaganyaan Mission. According to ISRO, the…

Nancy Shute is editor in chief of Science News Media Group. Previously, she was an editor at NPR and US News & World Report, and a contributor to National Geographic and Scientific American. She is a past president of the…

At the end of its life, the phoenix goes out in style. With a loud cry, the crimson bird bursts into flames. Then from a pile of ash, a baby bird pokes out its tiny head. The phoenix has burned, but it is born anew. This story is…

AI has long been guilty of systematic errors that discriminate against certain demographic groups. Facial recognition was once one of the worst offenders.  For white men, it was extremely accurate. For others, the error rates…

Like the Uranus's other 28 moons, the newfound object spotted by JWST will be named after a William Shakespeare or Alexander Pope character.

When Rakesh Sharma looked down at Earth from space in 1984 and said "Saare Jahan Se Achha," he wasn't just describing what he saw—he was capturing what India could become. Today, as we celebrate ISRO's incredible journey from a small…

Fall is approaching and respiratory virus season is on its way. While many people in the United States would normally be rolling up their sleeves for annual vaccines, shifting federal guidelines have injected uncertainty into who…