“Follow the water” has long been the mantra of scientists searching for life beyond Earth. After all, the only known cradle of life in the cosmos is the watery planet…
Author: ID
How dormant bacteria spores sense when it’s time to come back to life
Bacteria go to extremes to handle hard times: They hunker down, building a fortress-like shell around their DNA and turning off all signs of life. And yet, when times improve,…
Here’s where jazz gets its swing
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing — all you’ve got to do is stagger your timing. For decades, fans of jazz music have debated why…
Losing amphibians may be tied to spikes in human malaria cases
In the 1990s and 2000s, Costa Rica and Panama experienced spikes in malaria cases. The massive loss of amphibians in the region from a deadly fungal disease may have contributed…
Pterosaurs may have evolved from tiny, fast-running reptiles
A mysterious ground-dwelling reptile unearthed in a Scottish sandstone over 100 years ago turns out to be part of a famous flying family. Tiny Scleromochlus taylori was a close relative…
‘Breathless’ explores COVID-19’s origins and other pandemic science
BreathlessDavid QuammenSimon & Schuster, $29.99 When COVID-19 burst onto the global stage in 2020, it was deadly and disruptive. In the first weeks of January, researchers identified the cause: A…
Video captures young mosquitoes launching their heads to eat other mosquitoes
A kind of teenager mosquito can suddenly shoot its head forward from its body — stretching its neck into a skinny cord — to bite into another youngster. And that’s…
Climate change could turn some blue lakes to green or brown
Some picturesque blue lakes may not be so blue in the future, thanks to climate change. In the first global tally of lake color, researchers estimate that roughly one-third of…
Genetics of human evolution wins 2022 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine
Establishing a new field of science to answer the question of what makes humans unique from our extinct relatives has earned Svante Pääbo the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. …
‘Wonderful nets’ of blood vessels protect dolphin and whale brains during dives
If you look at parts of the circulatory system of whales and dolphins, you might think that you are looking at a Jackson Pollock painting, not blood vessels. These cetaceans…
