3D virtual reconstruction of the Bronze Age site of al-Natah. (Credit: Charloux et al., 2024, PLOS ONE)


3D virtual reconstruction of the Bronze Age site of al-Natah

Small settlements scattered throughout the region show signs of trade, fortification.

Bronze-Age Arabia was Slow to Urbanize Compared to Mesopotamia 

Researchers trained African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife species and remember targets for several months. (Credit: APOPO)


Rat used to detect contraband in an airport or harbor

Rodents could be used to find illicit goods at airports and harbors in places where dogs can’t easily access.

While Not as Cute as Dogs, Giant Rats Are Excellent at Sniffing Out Illicit Goods

MicroRNA

The Nobel Prize-winning discovery of microRNA has reshaped our understanding of gene regulation. Learn what these tiny molecules mean for cancer research.

 Cancer Research Takes a Leap Thanks to Nobel-Winning MicroRNA Discovery

The holotype specimen of Lomankus edgecombei. Photograph at left, other images at right are 3D models from CT scanning. (Credit: Luke Parry (photograph), Yu Liu, Ruixin Ran (3D models))

Ancient Arthropod that was Preserved in Gold

Scientists discover a new species of arthropod preserved in 3-D by iron pyrite.

A New 450-Million-Year-Old Arthropod Was Preserved in Fool's Gold

(Credit: Åge Hojem NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet)

Well Man Skeleton

Scientists use genetic data to confirm the story about the poisoning of a well. 

Identified Bones of 'Well Man' Match 800-Year-Old Norse Saga

The study of life (paleontology and biology) and the study of artificial life (bioinspired robotics and paleo-inspired robotics) provide complementary knowledge about animal evolution. (Credit: University of Cambridge)

Life Studies

Combining paleontology, biology, and robotics can help scientists model animals from the past, present, and feature.

Robots That Mimic Ancient Creatures Could Recreate Key Moments in Evolution

werewolf cat

Most animals with monstrous appearances are relatively harmless to humans. Here's the truth behind creepy creatures like the werewolf cat and goblin shark. 

10 Terrifying Animal Names That Sound Straight Out of a Horror Movie

A representation of the amylase gene locus and how it evolved to influence how humans digest complex carbohydrates like bread and pasta. (Credit: The Jackson Laboratory)

Amylase gene locus, a representation of its role in human digestion of the complex carbohydrates, bread and pasta

By examining DNA samples from many ancient humans, scientists can track when we began increasing our carbohydrate intake.

The AMY1 Gene Variation from Our Ancient Ancestors May Explain Our Carbohydrate-Rich Diets

A pair of recently uncovered brown dwarf twins, named Gliese 229ba and Gliese 229bb. Gliese 229b, discovered in 1995, was the first-ever confirmed brown dwarf, but until now astronomers thought they were observing a single body not two. New observations from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile revealed that the orb is two brown dwarfs tightly orbiting around each other every 12 days (as indicated by the orange and blue orbital lines), with a separation only 16 times larger than the distance between earth and the moon. The brown dwarf pair orbit a cool m-dwarf star every 250 years. 

(Credit: K. Miller, R. Hurt (Caltech/IPAC)) 

Illustration of brown dwarf twins in space

Astronomers observed that the two massive, gassy heavenly bodies orbit each other.

‘Poster Child’ Brown Dwarf Is Actually Twins Orbiting Each Other

Local archaeologists excavating in the Tam Pà Ling cave, Laos. (Credit: Vito Hernandez, Flinders University)


Local archaeologists excavating in the Tam Pà Ling cave, Laos.

Scientists investigating a cave in Southeast Asia recreate life there up to 52,000 years ago.

Dirt Reveals a New Arrival Time for Early Humans in Southeast Asia

The beaks of Darwin's medium ground finches can evolve to crush the shells of hard seeds. (Credit: Andrew Hendry)

Darwin's Finch

Researchers designed a simulation to show when finch species started to diverge.

Musical Experiment Links Climate and Environment to Darwin's Finch Evolutionary Change 

Gradute student Chanhong Lee tests the octopus-inspired sucker in the lab. (Credit: Alex Parrish for Virginia Tech)

Paul Smaglik