A study of rat body sizes shifting over time gives a glimpse into the habitat of the mysterious hominin Homo floresiensis -- nicknamed the 'Hobbit' due to its diminutive stature.

Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of the earliest large-scale celebrations in Britain - with people and animals traveling hundreds of miles for prehistoric feasting rituals. The study is the most…

Researchers have built a set of magnetic 'tweezers' that can position a nano-scale bead inside a human cell with unprecedented precision. The nano-bot has already been used to study the properties of…

An approved drug normally used to treat fungal infections could also do the job of a protein channel that is missing or dysfunctional in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis, operating as a…

By 2040, rainfall on wheat, soybean, rice and maize will have changed, even if Paris Agreement emissions targets are met; projections show parts of Europe, Africa, the Americas and Australia will be…

Modern coal-fired power stations produce more ultrafine dust particles than road traffic and can even modify and redistribute rainfall patterns, a new 15-year international study shows. The study…

The starry dwarf frog is an expert hider. Plunging into leaf litter at the slightest disturbance, it has successfully evaded attention for millions of years -- until now. The thumbnail-sized species,…

Two recent studies report discoveries of dust rings in the inner solar system: a dust ring at Mercury's orbit, and a group of never-before-detected asteroids co-orbiting with Venus, supplying the dust…

Anthropologists have long made the case that tool-making is one of the key behaviors that separated our human ancestors from other primates. A new article, however, argues that it was not tool-making…

Scientists have developed a novel 3D printer that uses patterns of visible and ultraviolet light to dictate which of two monomers are polymerized to form a solid material. Different patterns of light…

Researchers have spotted the formation sites of planets around a young star resembling our sun. Two rings of dust around the star, at distances comparable to the asteroid belt and the orbit of Neptune…

Astronomers have discovered a binary star system with the closest high-mass young stellar objects ever measured, providing a valuable 'laboratory' to test theories on high mass binary star formation.

An international team of astronomers announced the confirmation of the first exoplanet candidate identified by NASA's Kepler Mission.

A new article tells how researchers found -- in the site of Hort de la Bequera (Margalef de Montsant, Priorat) -- an artistic piece from 12,500 years ago in which humans and birds try to interact in a…

A new comprehensive study of climate change has painted over 5 million pictures of humanity's potential future, and few foretell an Earth that has not severely warmed. But with immediate action and…

A new study challenges one of the classic assumptions about how new proteins evolve. The research shows that random, noncoding sections of DNA can quickly evolve to produce new proteins.

New research indicates that even as a teenager the Tyrannosaurus rex showed signs that it would grow up to be a ferocious predator. Scientists reported evidence that a juvenile T. rex fed on a large…

Choosing to forget something might take more mental effort than trying to remember it, researchers discovered through neuroimaging.

Researchers have found that some stars exploding as supernovae may release part of their hydrogen layers to their companion stars before the explosion.

Chimpanzees are well known for their extraordinary diversity of behaviors, with some behaviors also exhibiting cultural variation. An international research team has investigated whether chimpanzee…

A new study finds a particular class of stars called K stars, which are dimmer than the Sun but brighter than the faintest stars, may be particularly promising targets for searching for signs of life.

Researchers have created a quantum circuit that enables them to listen to the weakest radio signal allowed by quantum mechanics. This new quantum circuit opens the door to possible future applications…

A new study reveals wide variations in how well or poorly people age. A 30-year gap separates countries with the highest and lowest ages at which people experience the health problems of a 65-year…

By analyzing troves of genetic data and considering a vast number of possible ways to examine it, scientists now have a high degree of confidence that horseshoe crabs do indeed belong within the…