Stories by Sid Perkins

The moon’s massive pool of methane, ethane and nitrogen could potentially swallow skyscrapers

New analysis reveals river deltas’ surprising expansion 

New images reveal carbon dioxide ensnared in metal-organic frameworks

Several designs could find uses in tiny robots and biomedical devices

The synthetic material is faster to make than natural wood

The toothy snout had a tip covered by a hornlike sheath

Simple processes can make wood tough, impact-resistant—or even transparent  

Tiny microstructures on the animals’ plumes absorb most of the incoming light

Long-sought features may help researchers improve models of solar activity and predict space weather 

“Textbook-changing” analysis of dinosaur bones upends long-accepted relationships among major

Temblors off northeastern Japan are often preceded by subtle slips along seafloor faults 

A newly described tiny creature has forelimb bones thought to support aerofoil membranes

Differences in the size and shape of tailbones offer a way to tell male and female fossils apart

The waddling Deinocheirus was almost as big as Tyrannosaurus rex

A shrinking sea off northern Africa, the Mediterranean's predecessor, triggered the desert's formation 7 million years ago, a study suggests

Bubble streams off the U.S. east coast could be methand-rich ices warming and releasing the potent greenhouse gas

Egyptians used the same general formula to soak burial linens as early as 4200 B.C.

The origin of Ceres' intermittent plumes is unclear

The discovery of Panthera blytheae fossils strengthens an Asian origin for pantherine carnivores

Ice-lubricated sledges were the most efficient way to transport multi-ton stones for Beijing’s center

Studies disagree on whether Jurassic haramiyids were true mammals

The near-complete remains of a tiny creature support the idea of an early origin for the lineage that led to humans

An analysis of chemicals in primate teeth shows that a Neandertal infant nursed exclusively for a little more than seven months

A dating technique has pinned down four volcanic eruptions that may have triggered the extinction event that cleared the way for dinosaurs to dominate Earth for the next 135 million years