New Research

Explorers Will Face Dangerous Amounts of Radiation On Their Trip to Mars

New data from the Mars Trace Gas Orbiter shows just the flight there and back alone will expose astronauts to 60 percent the lifetime radiation dose

Researchers first discovered Dickinsonia fossils back in 1946.

The World's Earliest Known Animal May Have Been a Blob-Like Undersea Creature

Traces of fat found on a 558-million-year-old fossil suggest <em>Dickinsonia</em> was an animal rather than fungus, plant or single-celled protozoa

R.I.P., guppy.

Praying Mantis Seen Hunting Fish for the First Time

The ravenous insect repeatedly returned to the hunting site, suggesting praying mantises may be capable of complex learning

Researchers fed microplastics to mosquito larvae in the lab.

Mosquitoes Are Passing Microplastics Up the Food Chain

These reviled insects are adding another charge to their rap sheet: ferrying harmful microplastics ingested from contaminated water

The Universe's Strongest Material is a Cosmic Lasagna

A new study suggests that the "nuclear pasta" found in neutron stars is 10 billion times stronger than steel

This Pulsar is Giving Off Weird Infrared Light and We're Not Sure Why

Researchers believe a disk of dust from a supernova or a pulsar wind nebula could explain the strange energy signal

An amphipod with its victim clamped on its back.

Kidnapper Crustaceans Use Tiny Mollusks as Unwitting Shields

Amphipods wear the so-called sea angels, which secrete chemicals that keep certain predators at bay, like backpacks

Venting frustrations

Cannibalism, Roller Coasters and Self-Colonoscopies in the News? It's Ig Nobel Season

The satirical awards celebrate some of the strangest scientific research

How Much Plastic Does It Take To Kill a Sea Turtle?

A new study suggests one piece of plastic has a 22 percent chance of killing a turtle that eats it, and 14 pieces will kill half

Though the mummified penguins died years ago due to "extreme climatic anomalies," modern day penguins are still at risk of the same fate in today's changing climate.

Here's How Hundreds of Baby Penguins Became Mummified in Antarctica

A new study posits that ‘extreme climatic anomalies’ caused the penguins to become mummified in two mass die-offs hundred of years ago

Chimps and Toddlers Use Same Gestures to Get Attention

A new study shows 12 to 24 month old children and chimps use 46 of the same movements to communicate, including stomping, pointing and clapping

Young grassland birds don't rush their final nest exit. They instead stick around as long as possible to gobble up as much food as they can stomach.

These Teen Birds Love Sleeping In, Too

A new study suggests young grassland songbirds postpone fledging in order to mooch off mom and dad as long as they can

A monarch on tropical milkweed.

How This Popular Garden Plant May Spread Parasites That Harm Monarchs

Non-native tropical milkweed encourage year-round monarch populations which harbor a deadly parasite for the imperiled insect

Still the enigma

Was Mona Lisa's Enigmatic Smile Caused by a Thyroid Condition?

Doctor theorizes that the sitter's lank hair, weak smile and yellowing skin point to post-pregnancy hypothyroidism

A mesmerizing murmuration of starlings

Your Hysterical Tweet About That Spider in Your Sink Could Prove Useful for Science

A new study suggests mining social media for phenology data is fairly reliable and could assist researchers tracking how rapidly the world is changing

Spix's macaw.

In the Last Decade, Four Birds Went Extinct and Four More Are Likely Gone

Habitat loss is the main culprit in killing off the birds, including Spix's macaw, the star of the popular 2011 film <i>Rio</i>

Artist's impression of galactic wind.

Astronomers Spot Galactic Wind From Early Universe

The ejection of molecular gas from a galaxy 12 billion light-years away may have kept an early galaxy from burning out too quickly

Genetic analysis of these excavated remains showed that unclear family linkages because some of the young warriors had widespread origins.

How Did These Hostage Children End Up Buried With Elite Germanic Warriors?

Analysis of remains in a high status grave shows that not all of the deceased were directly related, raising questions about why they were buried together

Jupiter's Magnetic Field Is Super Weird and Has Two South Poles

Analysis of data from the Juno probe shows the giant planet's field is much different from our own and suggests it has a dissolved core

Rhyta, a type of ancient vessel, were found to contain traces of cheese.

Traces of 7,200-Year-Old Cheese Found in Croatia

A new study posits that cheese production may have helped ancient farmers expand into Europe

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