Researchers have completed a comprehensive analysis of the head width of over 1500 modern and fossilized species of termites and determined that their size isn't shrinking at a geological timescale.
Earth’s interior is cooling faster than expected
Researchers have demonstrated in the lab how well a mineral common at the boundary between the Earth's core and mantle conducts heat. This leads them to suspect that the Earth's heat may dissipate sooner than previously thought.
Meet a colorful but colorblind spider
An international team of researchers found that the brightly colored jumping spider Saitis barbipes could not see its own vivid reds.
Past eight years: Warmest since modern recordkeeping began
Earth's global average surface temperature in 2021 tied with 2018 as the sixth warmest on record, according to independent analyses done by NASA and NOAA. Collectively, the past eight years are the warmest years since modern recordkeeping began in 1880.
Risky food-finding strategy could be the key to human success
When it comes to feeding behavior, humans are the inefficient gas-guzzlers of the primate family, according to a new study of hunter-gatherer energy budgets. Unlike our herbivorous cousins who spend much of the day lounging while chewing their fibrous diets, early humans made high-risk, high-energy investments in finding big calories...
Unlocking the mysteries of the pecking order
Dominance hierarchies were first described in chickens a century ago by a Norwegian zoologist who coined the term 'pecking order.' Since then researchers have examined the intricacies of conflict and competition in species as diverse as primates, whales, birds and insects.
Copper-based chemicals may be contributing to ozone depletion
As Earth's ozone layer recovers from past emissions of now-banned CFCs and halons, other chemicals are emerging as major causes of stratospheric ozone depletion. Atmospheric scientists have been searching for the sources of about one-third of the major threats, methyl bromide and methyl chloride. New research shows that copper-based compounds...
Plants: RNA notes to self
Plants need an internal communication system to coordinate their development and growth. Within a plant, cells message each other with pieces of RNA. A professor discovered a protein that carries these RNA messages between cells. Tinkering with this communication system may help crops grow better and adapt faster to their...
Lost birds and mammals spell doom for some plants
In one of the first studies of its kind, researchers have gauged how biodiversity loss of birds and mammals will impact plants' chances of adapting to human-induced climate warming.
Dried goji berries may provide protection against age-related vision loss
Regularly eating a small serving of dried goji berries may provide protection against age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in seniors.