Science
Scientific discoveries and research
Manakins' dazzling dances may owe their origins to an ancient diet shift
Few animals put on a show quite like manakins. In the rainforests of Central and South America, males of these small tropical birds, with strikingly bright plum...
Plant diversity may explain why some caterpillars are fussy about their food
Many insects will eat almost anything in their sight, such as certain beetles, grasshoppers and locusts, while others are remarkably picky eaters. For example,...
Canary Island relics offer new clues into how North African cultures adapted to ocean living
Archaeological evidence from the Canary Islands suggests that by the 11th century, people there were harvesting and processing a variety of fish and other marin...
The hidden physics complicating interstellar lightsails
If we're to reach another star, chemical propulsion will not get us there in any reasonable time frame. We're going to need a different propulsion technology, a...
A 5.3-million‑year‑old whale graveyard has been found on the floor of the Indian Ocean
When a whale dies, a very special natural phenomenon can come alive. The carcass might float at the surface for some time, attracting sharks and other predators...
Burned as waste for years, this overlooked plant material is poised to reshape how nylon gets made
Most people have seen nylon listed as a material on their clothing tags, but nylon is used in an array of other products, too, including automotive parts, wire...
Researchers publish first complete connectome of fruit fly brain and 'spinal cord'
In a first, a large, international team led by multiple labs at Harvard Medical School and Princeton University has published a complete wiring diagram of all t...
Research reveals how parenting styles influence children's honesty
Parents who come down hard on their children for telling lies or misbehaving may believe they are teaching the child right from wrong. But new research by NUS s...
Rare 500-year-old freeze-dried potatoes unearthed at Inca coastal site
Archaeologists digging at an Inca site on the arid coast of southern Peru have unearthed two rare, roughly 500-year-old freeze-dried potatoes. The potatoes are...
Standard tests do not always detect all gluten residues in barley beer
Some barley beers labeled "gluten-free" contain small amounts of gluten residues that may trigger celiac disease but are not detected by the standard antibody-b...
Damaged boreal peatlands may triple methane emissions, reshaping climate risk
A new study reveals that, for the first time, areas of Canada's boreal peatlands damaged by oil and gas exploration have failed to recover as scientists and com...
Chemical impurities make carbon surfaces superslippery, researchers find
Engineers often treat impurities as a problem to eliminate to improve material performance. But new research from Osaka Metropolitan University and Fraunhofer I...