Stories by Charles Q. Choi

Scientists puzzle out when and why coffee spills

The finding marks the first time researchers have seen gestures used in this way in the wild by animals other than primates

The work raises questions about whether super Earth-size objects existed in the early history of the outer solar system

Sixty "de novo" genes, many active in the cerebral cortex, arose from once-quiet stretches of DNA after humans split off from chimpanzees more than five million years ago

Probably not, as the gas drilling practice tends to be associated with minor quakes, not big ones, seismologists say

A sonar mapping cruise taken in June to the Baltimore, Washington and Norfolk Canyons and selected regions of the continental shelf revealed steep escarpments that probably pose no tsunami hazard

People who kill themselves have more of a type of neuron important for social emotions

A sleep expert discusses the question of how many memories we have daily, as part of Charles Choi's "Too Hard for Science?" series for SA

Most physicists are betting against the idea that neutrinos can pierce the cosmic speed limit, but that has not stopped some researchers from exploring the implications

Sensors can detect damage that may be invisible to the naked eye

A method known as "pattern informatics" scored as most reliable. This approach looks for anomalous increases and decreases in seismic activity

The finding supports a case made by Jared Diamond and others that migration along the same lines of latitude in Eurasia promoted the sharing of crops, animals and technology, but that wide variations in climate found in the New World's north-to-south orientation hindered cultural exchanges

Diamonds from deep underground now reveal that the activities of life can have effects far beneath Earth's surface

Seeing your life pass before you and the light at the end of the tunnel, can be explained by new research on abnormal functioning of dopamine and oxygen flow