Radiation-tolerant microbes might be able to live beneath Mars’ surface for hundreds of millions of years and may yet persist today, thanks in part — counterintuitively — to the Red…
Category: Life
How fungi make potent toxins that can contaminate food
Food contaminated with fungi can be an inconvenience at best and life-threatening at worst. But new research shows that removing just one protein can leave some fungal toxins high and…
Here’s how polar bears might get traction on snow
Tiny “fingers” can help polar bears get a grip. Like the rubbery nubs on the bottom of baby socks, microstructures on the bears’ paw pads offer some extra friction, scientists…
Bizarre aye-aye primates take nose picking to the extreme
Aye-ayes are true champions of nose picking. A new video offers the first evidence that these nocturnal lemurs of Madagascar stick their fingers up their noses and lick off the…
Insect swarms might generate as much electric charge as storm clouds
You might feel a spark when you talk to your crush, but living things don’t require romance to make electricity. A study published October 24 in iScience suggests that the…
Mountain lions pushed out by wildfires take more risks
Mountain lions have no interest in people, or the built-up areas we enjoy. But after a 2018 wildfire in California, local lions took more risks, crossing roads more often and…
A new treatment for debilitating nightmares offers sweeter dreams
For people haunted by recurring nightmares, untroubled sleep would be a dream come true. Now in a small experiment, neuroscientists have demonstrated a technique that, for some, may chase the…
How fungi make potent toxins that can contaminate food
Food contaminated with fungi can be an inconvenience at best and life-threatening at worst. But new research shows that removing just one protein can leave some fungal toxins high and…
Heat waves in U.S. rivers are on the rise. Here’s why that’s a problem
U.S. rivers are getting into hot water. The frequency of river and stream heat waves is on the rise, a new analysis shows. Like marine heat waves, riverine heat waves…
Ancient DNA unveils Siberian Neandertals’ small-scale social lives
DNA from a group of Neandertals who lived together and a couple of others who lived not far away has yielded the best genetic peek to date into the social…
