Flight demands may have steered the evolution of bird egg shape
The mystery of why birds’ eggs come in so many shapes has long been up in the air. Now new research suggests adaptations for flight may have helped shape the…
The moon might have had a heavy metal atmosphere with supersonic winds
The infant moon may have had a thick metal atmosphere, where supersonic winds raised waves in its magma ocean. That’s the conclusion of a new simulation that calculates how heat…
CRISPR adds storing movies to its feats of molecular biology
Short film is alive and well. Using the current trendy gene-editing system CRISPR, a team from Harvard University has encoded images and a short movie into the DNA of living…
Baby-led weaning won’t necessarily ward off extra weight
When my younger daughter was around 6 months old, we gave her mashed up prune. She grimaced and shivered a little, appearing to be absolutely disgusted. But then she grunted…
Spread of misfolded proteins could trigger type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes and prion disease seem like an odd couple, but they have something in common: clumps of misfolded, damaging proteins. Now new research finds that a dose of…
Normally aloof particles of light seen ricocheting off each other
Cross two flashlight beams and they pass right through one another. That’s because particles of light, or photons, are mostly antisocial — they don’t interact with each other. But now…
These chip-sized spacecraft are the smallest space probes yet
Spacecraft have gone bite-sized. On June 23, Breakthrough Starshot, an initiative to send spacecraft to another star system, launched half a dozen probes called Sprites to test how their electronics…
This sea snake looks like a banana and hunts like a Slinky
With its bright hue, this snake was bound to stand out sooner or later. A newly discovered subspecies of sea snake, Hydrophis platurus xanthos, has a narrow geographic range and…
Skeleton ignites debate over whether women were Viking warriors
Viking warriors have a historical reputation as tough guys, with an emphasis on testosterone. But scientists now say that DNA has unveiled a Viking warrior woman who was previously found…
This newfound hermit crab finds shelter in corals, not shells
A new species of hermit crab discovered in the shallow waters of southern Japan has been enjoying the perks of living like a peanut worm. Like the worms, the 7-…