Enlarge / A common cuttlefish, Sepia officianalis, in the Marine Resources Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA. A new study finds the cuttlefish can delay gratification—a key feature of the famous “marshmallow test.” (credit: Alexandra Schnell) Certain species show a remarkable ability to delay gratification, notably great apes, corvids, and parrots, while […]
Enlarge / The massive trunk of a kauri tree can remain intact for tens of thousands of years. (credit: W. Bulach / Wikimedia) The Earth’s magnetic field helps protect life from energetic particles that would otherwise arrive from space. Mars now lacks a strong magnetic field, and the conditions on its surface are considered so […]
Enlarge / A mammoth tusk thaws out of the ground in Siberia. Ancient DNA has revolutionized how we understand human evolution, revealing how populations moved and interacted and introducing us to relatives like the Denisovans, a “ghost lineage” that we wouldn’t realize existed if it weren’t for discovering their DNA. But humans aren’t the only […]
Another day, another screw-up in the world of hockey when it comes to diversity. This time, it was The Hockey News. Read more…
Enlarge / The difference between modern human (left) and Neanderthal skulls means there must be some differences in how their brains develop. (credit: Wikimedia Commons) What are the key differences between modern humans and our closest relatives, the Neanderthals and Denisovans? For the Neanderthals, there doesn’t look to be any sort of obvious difference. They […]
Scientists at the University of Arizona set up their own “Bug Fight Club” in the lab, staging wrestling matches between insects to learn more about defensive structures and the evolution of weapons in the animal kingdom. They outlined their findings in two separate papers, one published last fall in the journal Functional Ecology and the […]
Enlarge / False color image of viruses attached to a cell’s surface. (credit: NIAID) While the SARS-CoV-2 virus is new to humans, coronaviruses in general aren’t. There have been earlier members of this group of viruses that have raised pandemic fears, while another group regularly circulates widely in humans, causing symptoms of the common cold. […]
Enlarge / The structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. (credit: University of Arkansas) Over the summer, you could almost hear a sigh of relief rising from the portion of the research community that was tracking the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Viruses, especially those new to their hosts, often pick up mutations that help them […]
Enlarge / This poor fossilized assassin bug’s tiny penis is being closely scrutinized by paleontologists who consider the find “a rare treat”—because it has been so extraordinarily preserved. (credit: Daniel R. Swanson/Sam W. Heads) A rare fossilized assassin bug is causing a bit of a stir in entomology circles, because it is so remarkably well-preserved […]
Enlarge / Picture of vials of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, seen at the Cotahuma Hospital in La Paz, Bolivia. (credit: Jorge Bernal/Getty Images) Yesterday, the people behind Russia’s leading vaccine, termed Sputnik V, issued a preliminary analysis of its function. The news was quite good: while the trial is […]