Science

Meet the mite, the tiny bugs in your mattress, your tea and on your face

By Julia Griffin

Millions of minuscule mites share our wide world. Mites are arachnids, much like spiders and scorpions, and the microscopic creatures are among the oldest and most plentiful invertebrates on the planet.

Paralysis cases could help identify Zika spread, researchers say

By Andrew Joseph, STAT

Health officials are now finding that reported cases of Zika track closely with the onset of a temporary paralysis called Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Dogs distinguish words and tone much like humans

By Leigh Anne Tiffany

Dogs are able to process individual words and intonations in a manner similar to humans, based on a new study in the journal Science.

3.7 billion-year-old Greenland fossils are oldest yet, scientists say

By Harry Zahn

A newly discovered fossil from Greenland may represent the oldest known evidence of life on earth and could guide the search for life on moons or others planets in our solar system.

SpaceX rocket explodes at Cape Canaveral, $195 million satellite destroyed

By Nsikan Akpan

No casualties were reported after a SpaceX rockets exploded Thursday morning at Cape Canaveral.

New Alzheimer’s drug clears abnormal protein clogs in small, promising trial

By Karen Weintraub, Scientific American

Aducanumab, a new drug that some researchers are calling the most promising yet in the fight against Alzheimer’s, suggests it is possible to clear the brain of the amyloid protein, a characteristic of the disease.

Zika stays in the family, mother mosquitoes pass virus to eggs

By Nsikan Akpan

The inheritance of Zika virus may guarantee its long-term survival in mosquito (and human) populations.

X-rays suggest ironic end for famous human ancestor Lucy

By Courtney Norris

The "Lucy" skeleton has reshaped our understanding of human evolution, but no one has ever been able to explain how she died -- until now.

Where do the presidential candidates stand on climate change?

By Seth Borenstein, Associated Press

Clinton says climate change "threatens us all," while Trump tweets that global warming is "mythical" and repeatedly refers to it as a "hoax." Measurements and scientists say Clinton's Earth is much closer to reality.

Watch sea urchins turn themselves inside out to be reborn

By Joshua Cassidy and Carrie Boyle, KQED SCIENCE

Every summer, just beyond the crashing surf, hundreds of millions of tiny sea urchin larvae prepare for one of the most dramatic transformations in the animal kingdom.