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Deciphering talking drums, and squeezing more juice out of solar panels
Researchers have found new clues to how the “talking drums” of one Amazonian tribe convey their messages. Sarah Crespi talks with Online News Editor …
7 years, 11 months ago
Drug use in the ancient world, and what will happen to plants as carbon dioxide levels increase
Armed with new data, archaeologists are revealing that mind-altering drugs were present at the dawn of the first complex societies some 5000 years ag…
7 years, 11 months ago
How DNA is revealing Latin America’s lost histories, and how to make a molecule from just two atoms
Geneticists and anthropologists studying historical records and modern-day genomes are finding traces of previously unknown migrants to Latin America…
7 years, 11 months ago
Legendary Viking crystals, and how to put an octopus to sleep
A millennium ago, Viking navigators may have used crystals known as “sunstones” to navigate between Norway and Greenland. Sarah Crespi talks with Onl…
7 years, 11 months ago
Chimpanzee retirement gains momentum, and x-ray ‘ghost images’ could cut radiation doses
Two of the world’s most famous research chimpanzees have finally retired. Hercules and Leo arrived at a chimp sanctuary in Georgia last week. Sarah C…
8 years ago
A possible cause for severe morning sickness, and linking mouse moms’ caretaking to brain changes in baby mice
Researchers are converging on which genes are linked to morning sickness—the nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy—and the more severe form: …
8 years ago
How humans survived an ancient volcanic winter and how disgust shapes ecosystems
When Indonesia’s Mount Toba blew its top some 74,000 years ago, an apocalyptic scenario ensued: Tons of ash and debris entered the atmosphere, coatin…
8 years ago
Animals that don’t need people to be domesticated; the astonishing spread of false news; and links between gender, sexual orientation, and speech
Did people domesticate animals? Or did they domesticate themselves? Online News Editor David Grimm talks with Sarah Crespi about a recent study that …
8 years ago
A new dark matter signal from the early universe, massive family trees, and how we might respond to alien contact
For some time after the big bang there were no stars. Researchers are now looking at cosmic dawn—the time when stars first popped into being—and are …
8 years, 1 month ago
Neandertals that made art, live news from the AAAS Annual Meeting, and the emotional experience of being a scientist
We talk about the techniques of painting sleuths, how to combat alternative facts or “fake news,” and using audio signposts to keep birds from flying…
8 years, 1 month ago