Rachel Nuwer

Here’s What Three Mummies Might Have Looked Like While Alive

For the first time in over 2,000 years, these three mummies' faces now stare back at viewers, much as they might have appeared just before their deaths

January 30, 2013

Google’s New Maps Reveal That, Yes, There Are Roads in North Korea

January 30, 2013

1913 Nickel Could Sell for More Than $2 Million

The coin is one of only five 1913 Liberty Head nickels known to exist, though this one has an illicit, serendipitous back story

January 30, 2013

Feral Cats Kill Billions of Small Critters Each Year

A new study shows that cats--especially feral ones--kill far more birds and small mammals than scientists previously thought

January 29, 2013

Why Do Cute Animals Make Us Want to Squeeze Their Little Brains Out?

Sometimes, we just can't handle all of that joy

January 29, 2013

Did Shakespeare Have Syphilis?

Shakespeare acquired an uncanny obsession with syphilis late in life, perhaps along with a few bacteria of his own

January 29, 2013

Traumatized-Looking

Western nations fear the technologies deployed in Iran's space program could be used to develop ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads

January 28, 2013

Twitter Can Help Track Outbreaks of Disease

Next time you have a cold or feel the first malarial chill hit your bones, consider doing the world a favor and tweeting those symptoms out

January 25, 2013

For Dogs, Max Is the New Spot, Even in New York City

In the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia, Max ranks as the number one name for male dogs

January 25, 2013

Faithful Monkeys Make More Babies

When owl monkeys break up the mate that takes up with "the other partner" produces fewer offspring than faithful monkeys

January 25, 2013

There’s No Such Thing as Reading Silently to Yourself

Sitting in a corner reading silently - as you might be doing right now, for example - turns out to impossible

January 24, 2013

We Can Recognize Our Own Scent

Before this, it wasn't clear how people would react to their own smell or even whether they could recognize it.

January 24, 2013

Tapirs—South America’s Largest And Weirdest Mammal—Thrive in Secret Jungle Corridors

Good news for tapirs, the odd forest dwelling South American mammals that look something like a cross between a deer, pig and anteater

January 24, 2013

These Models Probably Never Thought They’d Be Shooting Fashion Photos With Whale Sharks

A journalist and a photographer juxtaposed beautiful women with whale sharks in order to raise awareness about the species' plight

January 23, 2013

Sweet Potato Genes Say Polynesians, Not Europeans, Spread the Tubers Across the Pacific

Sweet potato samples preserved in centuries-old herbariums indicate that Polynesian sailors introduced the yam across Southeast Asia and the Pacific

January 23, 2013

Bag Full of Otters Recovered at Thai Airport

Eleven live otters turned up in a scanned bagged that someone had abandoned at the oversized luggage area of Bangkok's airport

January 23, 2013

Raw Meat Meets 3D Printing

A bio-cartridge "prints" living cells, one on top of the next, and they naturally fuse to form muscle tissue

January 22, 2013

Rare Spider Hides Out in London Cemetery Vaults for 150 Years

Around 100 spiders turned up in the tombs, some of which date back to the 1830s

January 22, 2013

Geneticist Does Not Seek Woman to Give Birth to Cloned Caveman Baby

Geneticist says he's extracted enough DNA from Neanderthal fossils to create an embryo, but lacking a uterus himself he needs to find the right lady

January 22, 2013

NASA’s Curiosity Team Gives Us a Geeky Reason To Go to the Inauguration Parade

Although the rover itself could not make the trip from Mars, a full-size model will roll in the parade alongside the real-life crew

January 18, 2013