Marcus Woo, Smithsonian
Almost everyone succumbs to the ravages of time. Once quick and strong, both body and mind eventually break down as aging takes its toll. Except, it seems, for at least one species of ant.
Caleb Scharf, Nautilus
Astronomy and biology have been circling each other with timid infatuation since the first time a human thought about the possibility of other worlds and other suns. But the melding of the two into the modern field of astrobiology really began on Oct. 4, 1957, when a 23-inch aluminum sphere called Sputnik 1 lofted into low Earth orbit from the desert steppe of the Kazakh Republic.
David Robson, BBC Future
Silvano was on a cruise ship when the family curse struck. An elegant 53-year-old with striking red hair who enjoyed wearing a tuxedo at every possible occasion, he tried to present himself with the poise of the film stars he admired. But while on the ship’s dance floor one evening, he was embarrassed to find that his shirt had become drenched in sweat.
Steven Novella, Science-Based Medicine
While some parts of the world are concerned with eating, because of food insecurity, the “worried and well-fed well” are increasingly obsessed with so-called “clean eating.”This is nothing new, but like every cultural phenomenon, it seems, has increased partly due to the easy spread of misinformation over the internet.
Scott Johnson, Ars Tech
In June, NOAA employees altered temperature data to get politically correct results.” At least, that's what Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) alleged in a Washington Post letter to the editor last November. The op-ed was part of Smith's months-long campaign against NOAA climate scientists.
Nick Stockton, Wired
Something could be lurking at the edge of the solar system. Something big—two to four times larger than Earth—and dark. It might be a planet, slowly orbiting, and pitched away from the rest of the solar system.
Steve Silberman, NPR
The publication of a new history of autism called In a Different Key, by John Donvan and Caren Zucker, has reopened an unsettling question about the pioneering Viennese pediatrician Hans Asperger: Was he a Nazi sympathizer, or a man who paid lip service to his bosses' murderous ideology in order to save the lives of as many of his young patients as possible?
Tom Hartsfield, RCS
Incandescent bulbs give off warm, beautiful light that mimics the radiance of the sun. Unfortunately they require much more electricity than compact-fluorescent and LED bulbs. While some of us are willing to pay more for sunny light, federal regulations are trying to phase the old bulbs out.
Joel Shurkin, ISNS
(Inside Science) -- Endangered African elephants may have an unlikely ally to protect them from ivory poachers and extinction: long dead mammoths.
Mary Beth Griggs, PopSci
You can find all kinds of things on a beach. Lost sunglasses, loose change, seashells, the fossilized remains of a dinosaur. You know, the usual.
Yahoo! News
At 131-years-old Brazilian pensioner might just be the world’s oldest living person. If confirmed, Joao Coelho de Souza will take the title from the current Guinness World Record holder, Japan’s Yasutaro Koide, who’s a mere 112 years of age.
Cari Romm, The Atlantic
When it comes to the origins of warfare, there are two main schools of thought. One school believes the propensity for violence is embedded deep in human nature; the other believes that it arose in response to the need to protect property, a symptom of humans’ move from nomadic hunting and gathering towards a more settled lifestyle. Those who support the latter idea argue that the Paleolithic era was generally a peaceful time, with little evidence of organized violence between hunter-gatherer groups.
Ewen Callaway, Nature News
The feral chickens of Kauai provide a unique opportunity to study what happens when domesticated animals escape and evolve.
Justin Gillis, New York Times
Scientists reported Wednesday that 2015 was the hottest year in the historical record by far, breaking a mark set only the year before a burst of heat that has continued into the new year and is roiling weather patterns all over the world.
Ethan Siegel, Starts w/ a Bang!
Earlier today, the team of Mike Brown — famous for killing Pluto-as-a-planet — and Konstantin Batygin made a spectacular announcement: they’ve foundevidence for the existence of a ninth planet out beyond the orbit of Pluto. Unlike other claims of a large world far beyond the orbit of the known worlds (Planet X, Nemesis, a large, massive Pluto, etc.), this is based on more than just speculation: this time, there’s some compelling evidence.
Andrew Curry, NatGeo
The worlds oldest monuments may soon get an image makeover. A new project will promote and preserve Göbekli Tepe, home to the most ancient temple structures ever discovered.