All Science
Ancient, tiny fish might be ancestor of almost all vertebrates (including you)An exquisitely preserved, 500 million-year-old fish could be the common ancestor of all jawed vertebrates, a category that includes bony fish, birds, reptiles, and humans.
Soldiers could soon scale walls like geckos, say researchersThe stickiness of gecko feet has inspired paddles for soldiers to climb walls more easily. A US military program has developed the technology with safety and maneuverability in mind.
Sun unleashes two huge solar flares. How will they affect us?The sun underwent two powerful eruptions that could potentially disrupt radio communications on Earth, say scientists.
Subglacial volcanoes melting West Antarctic Ice sheet, say scientistsIt's not just climate change that is causing the rapid loss of ice in the West Antarctic; researchers have discovered that geothermal activity is contributing to the melting.
Computer program passes Turing test: But does it really think?Computer scientists at the University of Reading have announced that a conversation bot named Eugene Goostman has convinced a third of its interlocutors that it is a genuine human being, possibly meeting Alan Turing's iconic definition of a thinking machine. But can it really think?
What's it like to be a polar bear? Collar cameras offer new perspective.By attaching collar-cams to wild polar bears, the US Geological Survey has captured the first-ever video from the Arctic animals' point of view.
Rats may experience regret like humans, study saysRats may experience feelings of 'what might have been,' finds new research that challenges the notion that humans are the only animal to feel regret.
Paleontologists uncover evidence of 66-million-year-old forest fireScientists working in southern Saskatchewan, Canada have found fossilized plants showing evidence of an ancient wildfire, offering clues about forest ecosystems during the age of dinosaurs.
Looking to outwit the competition? Hire a chimp.In some simple competitive scenarios, chimpanzees have a cognitive advantage over humans, finds a new study.
Frogs use storm drains to amplify mating calls, say scientistsTree frogs in Taiwan seem to be using concrete drainage ditches as megaphones during mating season, according to new research.
- Middle school student discovers sweet new insecticide
A middle school science project found that the sugar substitute Truvia is effective in shortening the life spans of fruit flies.
Scientists studying moon's 'DNA' trace its ancestry to titanic collisionUsing moon rocks gathered by Apollo astronauts, German scientists found geochemical evidence the moon was formed by a collision 4.5 billion years ago between Earth and an object called Theia.
Intact pterosaur eggs discovered in ChinaPaleontologists in China have unearthed the first five intact, three-dimensional eggs of 100-million-year-old winged reptiles.
'The Beast' asteroid is hurtling past Earth. Here's how to watch it.Slooh, a robotic telescope that streams to the Web, has its eye on 'The Beast,' a football-stadium sized asteroid that is whizzing past our planet.
Mission to Mars? What US panel says needs to be done, now.A panel assessing the US human spaceflight program says that to reach Mars will require 'a very different way of doing things,' including a bigger NASA budget and cuts to other space programs.
Hubble telescope reveals brilliant ultraviolet image of young universeUsing images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have produced a colorful view of our evolving universe.
Solar close-up: In spectacular video, sun spews super-hot plasmaNASA's sun-watching IRIS observatory captured a recent solar eruption on video, say astronomers.
Hubble captures spectacular photos of 'northern lights' on SaturnImages of the blue planet display vibrant auroras, revealing to scientists a new side to the dance of northern light.
It's cool to be a tree hugger (at least if you're a koala)Keeping cool on hot days is tough for the Australian marsupial. By pressing themselves against cool tree trunks, the animals can regulate their body temperatures, say scientists.
What's going on with the sun? Scientists puzzled by oddities in sunspot cycle.Even though sun-watchers have recently gotten the tools to dig deep into the underlying mechanisms driving sunspot cycles, it’s still been hard to understand Earth’s host star.
