New Research

Sully Vent in the Main Endeavour Vent Field in the northeast Pacific, similar to the environment LUCA would have lived

Behold LUCA, the Last Universal Common Ancestor of Life on Earth

New discoveries suggest life likely descends from the inhospitable environment of deep sea vents

Hygiene sticks excavated at Xuanquanzhi station along the Silk Road

Ancient "Poop Sticks" Offer Clues to the Spread of Disease Along the Silk Road

The parasites found within the 2,000-year-old-feces smeared on bamboo suggest more than commodities made the trip

Leonardo da Vinci—friction pioneer

Researcher Discovers First Written Evidence of Laws of Friction in Leonardo Da Vinci's Notebooks

A scientific breakthrough was dismissed as a useless doodle—until now

An artistic rendering shows an early proto turtle Eunotosaurus (foreground) burrowing into the banks of a dried-up pond to escape the harsh arid environment present 260 million years ago in South Africa.

Why the Turtle Grew a Shell—It's More Than Safety

Its armor may have developed for more than safety

New Brain Map Doubles Number of Known Regions

Neurologists have found 97 new areas in the brain and expect to add even more

Aye-aye

Study Shows Primates Prefer a Little Booze With Their Nectar

Two prosimian primates, the aye-aye and slow loris, show a preference for sugar-water with a higher alcohol content

Right: Photograph during excavation exhibiting excellent dry preservation of plant remains Left: A well-preserved, desiccated barley grain found at Yoram Cave.

After 6,000 Years of Farming, Barley Is Still (More or Less) the Same

Talk about an ancient grain

Pitcher R.A. Dickey is well-known for his knuckleball.

Physicists May Have Finally Figured Out Why Knuckleballs Are So Hard to Hit

All with the help of a ball-throwing robot

San Andreas fault near Parkfield, California

Tides Trigger Tiny Earthquakes Along the San Andreas Fault

The spring tides trigger small tremors deep in the fault, revealing the fault's structure

An artist's conception of four of the new planets, orbiting a single dwarf star. These small, rocky worlds are far closer to their star than Mercury is to our sun, but the star is smaller and cooler than our own.

Kepler Just Found 104 New Planets Outside of Our Solar System

Is anyone home?

Browse Though the Amazon's 12,000 Tree Species in This New Master List

Gotta count 'em all

Researchers show a mouse an image of cat while recording neuron activity in its visual cortex

Mice Watching "Touch of Evil" Teach Scientists About the Mind's Eye

By tracking mice neurons, scientists hope to understand consciousness

Was this 1660 self-portrait painted with the help of high-tech optics?

Did Rembrandt Have Help With His Most Famous Paintings?

A new study suggests the old master also knew his optics

Ducks: We rule the world.

Defying Stereotypes, Ducklings Are as Clever as They Are Cute

Newborn ducks understand abstract concepts such as sameness and difference with no training whatsoever

Researcher Ricardo Godoy conducts an experiment with a member of the Tsimane

Researchers Travel to the Amazon to Find Out if Musical Taste is Hardwired

Members of the Tsimane tribe showed no preference between consonant and dissonate tones, meaning Western music is probably not biologically based

This spectacular image of the Orion Nebula star-formation region was obtained from multiple exposures using the HAWK-I infrared camera on ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile.

Breathtaking New Images Capture Failed Stars and Planet-Sized Objects Inside the Orion Nebula

It’s the deepest look into the nebula ever seen before

Illustration of Gualicho shinyae hunting with its jaws, not arms.

Arm Day at the Gym Apparently Not a Thing for Newly Found, Tiny-Armed Dino

Turns out <i>T. rex</i> doesn’t have a copyright on those adorably awkward, itty-bitty arms

Did Ancient Pacific Islanders Use Obsidian to Make Their Tattoos?

A team of Australian researchers think they may have found tools used to ink the ancients

Rachel Kalisher, a member of the physical anthropology team, measures a 10th-9th century BC skeleton

New Dig Shows the Philistines Weren’t Such Philistines

A graveyard containing over 200 sets of remains is giving researchers their first deep look into the little-known biblical tribe

Self-Lubricating Swordfish Secrete Oil to Swim Faster

Greased lightning, go greased lightning

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