Dogs look longer at a round shape for &#039;bouba&#039; and a spiky one for &#039;kiki&#039;, study of 70 dogs finds

French colonizers paid bounties for rat tails, so villagers bred rats to profit

When colonial authorities offered bounties for rat tails to clean up Hanoi's streets, enterprising villagers simply started breeding them instead.

By Ainura Kalau · Oct 28, 2026

How benign neglect made Gen X unexpectedly resilient to life's hardships

A generation raised by absence rather than instruction may have stumbled onto the emotional resilience that anxious modern parenting is actively training out of children.

By Kiran Journals · Oct 27, 2026

Orangutan mothers plan social visits for their young, study finds

The social lives of wild orangutans are far more deliberate than we realized—and far more like our own.

By Kiran Journals · Oct 27, 2026

Blacktip sharks heard underwater sounds from at least 62 metres away, drone study shows

Drone video of wild blacktip sharks fleeing a loud underwater speaker puts a number on how far away they react to sound, though the study cannot yet say how they sense it.

By Sanchana Charles · Oct 25, 2026

Closeness to cats lifts mood more than years of living together

Quality of time with your cat matters far more than how long you've owned it, according to new data on feline companionship.

By Kiran Journals · Oct 24, 2026

Hurricane Andrew unleashed an invasive python population that now numbers in the tens of thousands

A hurricane, eight pythons, and an ecological catastrophe—but the origin story everyone tells about Florida's snake invasion might not be true.

By Kiran Journals · Oct 24, 2026

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Health

Medicine, public health, and the research that shapes how we stay well.

Mosquito traps cut eggs by 70%, but impact on disease remains unclear

By Sanchana Charles

Wisconsin study finds childhood fluoridated water not linked to IQ or thinking skills

By Graeme Brown

Phoenix's deadly heat didn't need extreme humidity to threaten elderly residents

By Graeme Brown

Dogs in bed didn't disrupt sleep tracking, even when owners felt interrupted

By Justin Brown

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Brain & Behavior

Neuroscience, psychology, and the science of how we think and act.

Swapping one gene made mice better at forming habits, though not at talking

By Sanchana Charles

Loneliness linked to faster cognitive decline in older adults

By Chris Jeremia

Chicago program slashes violent-crime arrests by nearly half among boys

By Sanchana Charles

European children caught up to Moken sea nomads' underwater vision with training

By Sanchana Charles

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Technology

Engineering, computing, and the tools reshaping daily life.

Teen built $12 ocean-current probe and won America's top young scientist prize

By Justin Brown

17-year-old built a $100 earthquake detector that warns LA seconds before shaking hits

By Ainura Kalau

Concrete made with crushed glass bottles gets stronger than normal, slower to peak

By Ainura Kalau

Arizona's rubber highway coating cuts freeway noise by 11 decibels

By Ainura Kalau

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Earth & Environment

Climate, energy, ecology, and the systems that keep the planet running.

Thames fish species rebounded from zero to over 115 since declared biologically dead

By Justin Brown

California releases first beavers in 75 years to restore watersheds

By Justin Brown

No-till farming raised corn returns by $34 to $93 an acre over three decades

By Justin Brown

Doubling sea otters halved erosion in California's tidal creeks

By Chris Jeremia

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Life

Biology, animals, plants, and life beyond the human story.

Large dogs lose genetic brakes on jumping genes faster, study finds

By Sanchana Charles

Hunting season without limits backfired, spreading hogs across Tennessee

By Sanchana Charles

Ancient Scottish fossil reveals unexpected early branch point in vertebrate evolution

By Chris Jeremia