Drumming Beats Speech for Distant Communication
The Bora people in the northwestern Amazon use drums to send languagelike messages across long distances. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Stories by Christopher Intagliata
If Singing's Tough, Try Whistling
A new study claims it's easier to accurately whistle a melody than to sing it. Christopher Intagliata reports. ...
NYC Mice Are Packed with Pathogens
Mice trapped in New York City apartment buildings harbored disease-causing bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. Christopher Intagliata reports...
Some Habitable Zone Exoplanets May Get X-Rayed Out
Red dwarfs are a popular place to hunt for small exoplanets in the habitable zone—but the stars' radiation bursts might fry chances for life as we know it. Christopher Intagliata reports...
Brain Scan Might Reveal Appetite for Risk
Volunteers willing to place riskier bets tended to sport larger amygdalas—a region associated with processing fear. Christopher Intagliata reports.
13,000-Year-Old Footprints under West Coast Beach
Several feet below a beach in British Columbia, archaeologists discovered soil trampled by human feet—the oldest footprints found so far in North America. Christopher Intagliata reports...
Math Cracks a Knuckle-Cracking Mystery
The source of knuckle cracking sounds is much debated—but new mathematical models may reconcile two opposing views. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Rotting Flesh Offers Insight on Fossilization
To learn more about decay and fossilization, researchers conduct unorthodox experiments—like dissecting decomposing animals in the lab. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Arctic Heat Waves Linked to Snowpocalypse-Like Storms
An analysis of more than six decades of daily temperature and snowfall data linked warmer arctic temperatures to cold snaps at lower latitudes. Christopher Intagliata reports...
Gut Parasites Have Their Own Gut Microbiomes
The whipworm lives in the human gut, mooching microbes from its host to build its own microbiome. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Saliva Protein Might Inhibit Intestinal Anarchy
A protein found in spit prevents bad bugs from binding to intestinal cells in the lab, pointing to a possible way to lower the chances of dysentery. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Human Echolocators Use Tricks Similar to Bats
People who use echolocating mouth clicks to compensate for low vision increase the number and intensity of clicks when objects are harder to detect. Christopher Intagliata reports.
To See Gun Injury Drop, Hold an NRA Meeting
When the National Rifle Association holds its national convention, gun injuries drop 20 percent—perhaps because fewer gun owners are around their guns. Christopher Intagliata reports...
Big Cities Have Fewer Tweeters Per Capita
But those who do tweet in big cities are more prolific—tweeting more often, on average, than their small-town counterparts. Christopher Intagliata reports...
How Baby Birds Learn to Duet
Recordings of songbird duets reveal baby birds learn conversational turn-taking like we do: gradually, and from adults. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Undersea Recordings Reveal a Whale's Tale
By eavesdropping on the calls of blue whales, researchers hope to get a more accurate picture of the massive mammals' distribution and abundance. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Seabird Feathers Reveal Less-Resilient Ocean
By analyzing 130 years of seabird feathers, researchers determined that food webs are losing complexity in the Pacific—meaning less-resilient ecosystems. Christopher Intagliata reports...
Boat Noise Means Fish Can't Learn Their Lessons
Damselfish had trouble learning to avoid predators, when that lesson was accompanied by a soundtrack of buzzing boat engines. Christopher Intagliata reports...
Woodpeckers Drum to Their Own Tunes
The length and spacing of woodpecker drum rolls varies enough to tell woodpeckers apart—which could be useful to conservation biologists. Christopher Intagliata reports...
Killer Whale Culture Revealed by Mimicking Us
Orcas can imitate calls from other whales and even human speech—suggesting they can transmit cultural practices, such as unique dialects. Christopher Intagliata reports.
