Life

More Stories in Life

  1. photo of large leaves from a tropical plant taken from below the forest canopy
    Climate

    Some leaves in tropical forests may be getting too hot for photosynthesis

    Climate change may be forcing some tropical leaves to stop photosynthesis and die. It’s still unclear what effect this will have on entire forests.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  2. An illustration of an adult ancient bison and calf attempting to escape a fire while other bison are seen running in the background.
    Life

    Around 13,000 years ago, humans and fire changed LA’s ecosystem forever

    Rapid drying combined with human-made fires changed Southern California forever, killing off ancient bison, dire wolves and five other megafauna species there.

    By Jake Buehler
  3. An overhead photo of the Iceman Ötzi mummy lying on a white table.
    Genetics

    A new look at Ötzi the Iceman’s DNA reveals new ancestry and other surprises

    Ötzi had genetic variants for male-pattern baldness and dark skin, and he also had an unusual amount of early farmer ancestry, a new DNA analysis finds.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  4. An illustration of a woman's profile with music notes and butterflies flying above her head and a squiggly line wrapping around and out the back of her head.
    Neuroscience

    Neuroscientists decoded a Pink Floyd song using people’s brain activity

    The technique could be used to improve devices that allow communication from people unable to speak.

    By Claudia López Lloreda
  5. A photo of several beige-colored macaque monkeys sitting around on rocks.
    Animals

    Macaques in Puerto Rico learned to share shade after Hurricane Maria

    Animals that spent more time together on hot afternoons were less likely to die during the years following the storm, a new study finds.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  6. A photo of a small green Sarayacu tree frog sitting on a green background.
    Life

    Many frogs glow in blue light, and it may be a secret, eerie language

    Biofluorescence is far more common across frog species than previously thought. The faint twilight glow could have a role in communication or mating.

    By Jake Buehler
  7. An illustration of the newly discovered ancient whale species.
    Paleontology

    Meet the tiny ancient whale named after King Tut

    The newly discovered Tutcetus rayanensis lived about 40 million years ago. It was just 2.5 meters long and weighed less than 200 kilograms.

    By Skyler Ware
  8. A photo of green moss.
    Plants

    The fastest-evolving moss in the world may not adapt to climate change

    The genus Takakia has the largest number of fast-evolving genes of any moss, a study finds. But it’s losing ground in the warming Himalayas.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  9. An illustration of a DNA helix on a dark blue background.
    Genetics

    The ‘unknome’ catalogs nearly 2 million proteins. Many are mysterious

    Scientists have unveiled a new database that emphasizes how much we still don’t know about human proteins and genes.

    By Skyler Ware