Biology
Read My Beard--Lizards Change Neck Color to Chat
The central bearded dragon can rapidly shift its body color to soak up extra sun or cool off, while using its neck color to communicate with other lizards.
"60SSV"
Biotech
Listen to the Sounds of Knees Cracking
Eavesdropping on the creaks and groans of an athlete’s knee could help doctors track healing after injury or surgery.
Behavior
What Makes Spiders Scary
Scientists hope to learn whether arachnophobes' perception of spiders as larger than actual size causes their fear—or whether it is the fearfulness itself that causes their visual misperception...
Space & Physics
Quantum Cuteness: Neutron Beta Decay
This toy is radioactively cute—and able to explain how a neutral-faced neutron turns into a proton with a positive expression.
Fitness
What Does It Mean When Your Heart Skips a Beat?
If seeing the one you love makes your heart skip a beat, should you see a cardiologist?
Medicine
Size Matters--for Heart Monitors
The same technological advances that shrank telephones miniaturized heart monitors, with far-reaching implications for heart health.
Space & Physics
Gravitational Waves Are the Ringing of Spacetime
The universe is a noisy place, but we didn’t always have the right ears to hear the sounds—until now.
Evolution
3-D Printed Trilobites
In his spare time, D. Allan Drummond, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, fuses art and science to create lifelike trilobite sculptures...
Culture
Aviation Furniture: When Planes Come Home
A junkyard full of old airplanes turns out to be an artist’s playground. Several companies exist to turn historic old aircraft parts into seating, tables, picture frames, book shelves and any other piece of furniture you might imagine...
Biology
3-D Printed Yeast Cell
Why would a biochemist make three-dimensional prints of budding yeast cells?
EARTH
Richard Garriott's Cabinet of the Universe, Part 3: Life Begins
Life first began on Earth in a carbon dioxide–rich atmosphere. Plants evolved that can still be found today. But when oxygen started building up, that emergent life got into trouble...
Evolution
Richard Garriott's Cabinet of the Universe, Part 2: Earth Forms
In this episode of Richard Garriott's miniseries, he shows us how Earth formed, how remnants of that formation still wander the solar system and how our planet came to be covered by oceans.Next week: Life on Earth Begins...
Space & Physics
Richard Garriott's Cabinet of the Universe, Part 1: The Big Bang
Richard Garriott, video game developer and space entrepreneur, explains how he and his wife collected enough artifacts to illustrate the entire history of the universe. In this video he takes us back to the very beginning...
Culture
Is Wool Really Warmest for Winter?
In an experiment pitting cotton against wool, two socks battle for the title of warmth heavyweight.
Fitness
Why We Live in a Cloud of Microbes
Pets and people shed clouds of microbes as unique and personal as their fingerprints, but the clouds can change over time.
Space & Physics
Collecting Meteorites in Your Own Backyard
All it takes is a magnet and knowing where to look.
Mind & Brain
Helmet Sensors Reveal the Real Impact of Head Injuries
More comprehensive scanning shows that even “minor” hits could be as damaging to players’ brains as concussions.
Space & Physics
General Relativity at the Beach
A hammock turns out to be the perfect place to contemplate spacetime, especially if you happen to have some coconuts
First Chimpanzees Caught Drinking Alcohol
What’s on tap? Fermented tree sap.
Behavior
Multitasking Can Improve Exercise Performance
Researchers were surprised to find that cyclists rode faster while taking on easy mental tasks.—Karen Hopkin, Eliene Augenbraun
