Basic Research

The incredible acrobatics of the tree frog, in slow motion

By Julia Griffin

The toe pad of the Amazon milk frog can hold up to 14 times the animal’s body weight. That’s like an average American man holding a Honda Civic… with his toes.

Mercury makes rare trip between the Earth and the sun

By Nsikan Akpan

Don't miss Mercury's transit! It only happens 13 times per century.

Why are peacock tail feathers so enchanting?

By Julia Griffin

To better understand the role that peacock tail feathers play in sexual selection, scientists have turned their attention to a tail-shaking move known as "train-rattling."…

Western scientists dissect a North Korea volcano cutoff by diplomatic sanctions

By Nsikan Akpan

One of the first collaborations by North Korean and Western scientists peers into the underbelly of a mammoth volcano.

This supernova blast was so close, it littered the ocean floor with radioactive dust

By Nsikan Akpan

Radioactive stardust confirms the two closest supernovae to ever explode near Earth. The most recent of the pair may have altered human evolution.

This ancient arachnid ushered in the spider uprising

By Nsikan Akpan

X-ray scans of a 305-million-year old fossil have unlocked a new chapter in the spider origin story.

New cousin of El Niño may forecast summer heat waves months in advance

By Nsikan Akpan

A new climate model, based on a cauldron of Pacific ocean water, may soon be able to predict heat waves 7 weeks before they happen.

New tetraquark particle sparks doubts

By Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American

The Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator failed to confirm the Tevatron accelerator’s discovery of a new arrangement of quarks.

How many synthetic genes does it take to sustain life?

By Nsikan Akpan

By nailing down the genetic ingredients for life, synthetic biologists at the J. Craig Venter Institute may have redefined the rules for what's essential for survival.