Millions of years ago, our ancestors, like us today, had to contend with viruses. No doubt the infections were unpleasant for them at the time, but their suffering wasn’t for naught — some of those viruses left traces in our DNA. And, according to scientists at the Francis Crick Institute, these remnants may aid the body’s immune response to cancer today. Discovering Ancient VirusesWhile studying lung cancer in mice and in human tumor samples, the team found that immunotherapy treatment se ...read more

A mainstay of the December night sky, the Geminids meteor shower first appeared in the mid-1800s, and it’s grown more impressive in the ensuing years. It now features up to 120 meteorites an hour given clear skies. A new study may have found that the shower originated in some type of catastrophic collision. This differentiates it from most showers, which come from icy comets that pass close to the sun, that then melts and releases particles.Read More: The Asteroids We Should Watch Out ForAn As ...read more

Take one look at a fossilized Archaeopteryx, and you’re bound to be confused. While its sharp teeth, long snout and lengthy tail look like those of a dinosaur, its feathered wings are reminiscent of a bird. The mix of traits is so strange that even paleontologists have struggled to classify the creature.Having been described as both a birdish dinosaur and a dinosaur-like bird, Archaeopteryx, whose name translates to “old wing,” is best understood as one of many transitional forms that brid ...read more

Alcohol use disorder, the medical diagnosis for alcoholism, affects about 10 percent of the U.S. population, or 29.5 million people. Yet, doctors wanting to treat this condition have only a handful of medications at their disposal, including such drugs as disulfiram, Acamprosate and naltrexone.Disulfiram makes people violently ill if they drink. Acamprosate is powerfully tranquilizing. And naltrexone suppresses the opioid system, which can reduce cravings in both alcoholics and opiate users. Sti ...read more

Within rocks found in the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation dating between 66 and 145 million years, paleontologists excavated a new species of ankylosaur on the Isle of Wight. The previously unknown giant reptile was dubbed Vectipelta barretti and is the first armored dinosaur found on the British island in over a century. The find shines light on the diversity of the ankylosaur fauna during the early Cretaceous period in England, which was published this month in the Journal of Systematic P ...read more

Many American workers have heard that familiar ding just as they sit down to dinner or plop in front of the television. A glance at their smartphone shows a preview of a work-related message. A co-worker has a “quick question” or is “just circling back” to an earlier discussion.Technically, the worker is off the clock and not required to respond. But people admit to engaging in email during their off time. Twenty-eight percent of American workers said they check their work email “extre ...read more

The real “Lucy” skeleton, the famous 3.2-million-year-old specimen of Australopithecus afarensis, resides within a specially constructed safe at the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa. Sophisticated molds of the bones, however, can be found all over the world, in such places as Arizona State University’s Institute of Human Origins, where they are used for scientific study. Or you can buy your own from Bone Clones, Inc., for $7,495, assuming you want the articulated version that fil ...read more

What do a velociraptor, Tyrannosaurus rex and Spinosaurus all have in common? For starters, the carnivorous trio clawed their way to superstar status as antagonists in the first three films in the Jurassic Park franchise. But on a more basic level, these dinosaurs are all theropods. Put simply, this group of dinosaurs mostly walked on two legs, had three claws on their feet, and of course, ate meat.“Theropods are the most charismatic of the dinosaurs,” says Joseph Frederickson, museum direct ...read more

This story was originally published in our Jul/Aug 2023 issue as "Mind Games." Click here to subscribe to read more stories like this one.I’m slouching over my desk, smartphone in hand, furiously tapping at the screen. In a game that looks straight out of a 1980s Atari console, I’m trying to direct little multicolored trains to stations of the same color by selecting the tracks as fast as I can. This task is supposed to assess my attention skills. I don’t do well. Luckily for me, the app ...read more

When beluga whales communicate with one another, certain vocalization cues reveal their social structures. When meerkats face an approaching predator, they use a complicated set of alarm calls depending on how close and dangerous it is.And in the skies, birds also communicate danger — along with things like mating status — to others in their flock.  Now, scientists are harnessing the power of machine learning to build a program that can decipher all these forms of animal communication, and ...read more