Why Are Plants Green?
The dominance of green chlorophyll on Earth may have come after a more purple period.
Sizing Up Spiders
Does a fear of spiders warp our perception of their size?
Robot Drum Arm
A robotic third arm helps drummers execute previously impossible percussion patterns.
Dialects & Society
While the media affect our vocabulary, our accents are a product of our community.
Female Songbirds
Female house wrens sing to defend their nest sites from intruders.
Giant Armadillos
DNA evidence reveals that the enormous armored glyptodont, an extinct South American mammal, was a close cousin to modern armadillos.
Gender Bias & Online Sales
Buyers shell out a lot less in online auctions when the seller is female.
Children & Noise
Research suggests that children can’t filter out noise the way adults can, with profound implications for learning.
Robo-Roaches
Small, maneuverable robots based on cockroaches could be deployed in disaster zones to find human survivors.
Cybathlon
Implantable pulse generators help turn paralyzed patients into bionic athletes.
Hands-on Physics
Experiencing physics phenomena first-hand can boost students’ learning of the subject, and leads to changes in the brain.
Neandertal Legacy
Neandertals contributed to genetic risk factors for some of today’s health problems and even mood disorders in people of European and Asian descent.
Children & Noise
Research suggests that children can’t filter out noise the way adults can, with profound implications for learning.
Food Security & Climate Change
Limited growing regions make staple crops like corn, wheat and soy more vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Race & Genetics Research
Some researchers argue that the concept of race should be eliminated from genetic studies.
Parasites & Chimp Behavior
A microscopic parasite compels chimpanzees toward their worst enemy.
Sleep Deprivation & False Confessions
Sleep deprivation may lead people to confess to things they haven’t done.
Breathing Ponds
Little ponds may be significant contributors of greenhouse gases.
Singing Fruit Flies
Scientists listen in on fruit fly courtship calls to study the neural underpinnings of communication.
Performance Anxiety
Scientists pinpoint regions of the brain that work together to trip us up when we’re being scrutinized.
Babylonian Astronomers
Scientists uncover the lost astronomical calculations of the Babylonians.
Venus Flytrap Math
The carnivorous Venus flytrap avoids wasting energy digesting non-food items it traps by accident with a bit of math.
