Birds categorize colors just like humans do
For a small, reddish-beaked bird called the zebra finch, sexiness is color-coded. Males have beaks that range from light orange to dark red. But from … Read more
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Mapping mountaintop coal mining’s yearly spread in Appalachia
The coal industry may have declined in the last decade because of the rise of cheap natural gas, but a coal mining method called mountaintop … Read more
Self-Healing Engineered Muscle Grown in the Laboratory
Biomedical engineers have grown living skeletal muscle that looks a lot like the real thing. It contracts powerfully and rapidly, integrates into mice quickly, and … Read more
Weaker Gut Instinct Makes Teens Open to Risky Behavior
Making a snap decision usually means following your initial reaction — going with your gut. That intuitive feeling sprouts from the limbic system, the evolutionarily … Read more
Simple changes to homework improved student learning
Modifying homework procedures improved outcomes without altering curriculum A new study offers evidence that simple and inexpensive changes to existing courses can help students learn … Read more
Acoustic Cloaking Device Hides Objects from Sound
Using little more than a few perforated sheets of plastic and a staggering amount of number crunching, Duke engineers have demonstrated the world’s first three-dimensional … Read more
New Biological Scaffold Home, Sweet Home, for Stem Cells
Our cells don’t live in a vacuum. They are surrounded by a complex, nurturing matrix that is essential for many biological functions, including growth and … Read more
Adjusting GPAs: A Statistician’s Effort to Tackle Grade Inflation
Nearly two decades ago, Texas A&M University statistician Valen E. Johnson found himself in the trenches of one of the most contentious fights in higher education: curbing … Read more
Lemur lovers sync their scents
The strength of a lemur couple’s bond is reflected in the similarity of their scents The strength of a lemur couple’s bond is reflected by … Read more
‘Superlens’ Extends Range of Wireless Power Transfer
Inventor Nikola Tesla imagined the technology to transmit energy through thin air almost a century ago, but experimental attempts at the feat have so far … Read more
Pulpit Bullies: Why Dominating Leaders Kill Teams
When Harvard Business School Associate Professor Francesca Gino invites high-powered business leaders to address her class, she often observes an interesting phenomenon. The guest speakers … Read more
