Politics
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Fate of Retired Research Chimps Still in Limbo
The National Institutes of Health, which owns the chimps at the Alamogordo Primate Facility in New Mexico, has no plans…
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Supernova or Coronavirus: Can You Tell the Difference?
A scientist finds beauty in the “visual synonyms” that exist in images seen through microscopes and telescopes.
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How the Cockroach Took Over the World
A genetic analysis of the German cockroach explained its rise in southern Asia millenniums ago, and how it eventually turned…
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63 Years Later, First Black Man Trained as Astronaut Goes to Space
Edward Dwight was among the first pilots that the United States was training to send to space in 1961, but…
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Scientists Calculated the Energy Needed to Carry a Baby. Shocker: It’s a Lot.
In humans, the energetic cost of pregnancy is about 50,000 dietary calories — far higher than previously believed, a new…
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The Itsy Bitsy Spider Inspired a Microphone
If spiders use their webs like a large external eardrum, researchers reasoned, perhaps spider silk could be the basis for…
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Why Do People Make Music?
Music baffled Charles Darwin. Mankind’s ability to produce and enjoy melodies, he wrote in 1874, “must be ranked amongst the…
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The Unusual Evolutionary Journey of the Baobab Tree
New research shows the “upside-down trees” originated in Madagascar and then caught a ride on ocean currents to reach mainland…
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Fossil Catches Starfish Cousin in the Act of Cloning Itself
The brittle star specimen suggests that the sea creatures have been splitting themselves in two to reproduce for more than…
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Alarmed by Climate Change, Astronomers Train Their Sights on Earth
A growing number of researchers in the field are using their expertise to fight the climate crisis.