News

Genetic analysis of an 11,000-year-old skeleton discovered in Alaska suggests that North America was settled by a previously unknown people who originated in Siberia.

A gelatin made from donkey hides is prized as a traditional Chinese remedy. Now slaughterhouses have opened in Africa, and domestic animals are disappearing from villages.

A series of unusual experiments in mice finds that dietary fiber fine-tunes the immune system and may help prevent chronic inflammation.

Astronomers have their noses pressed against the windows of the unknown, wanting to believe in life elsewhere just like many outer space enthusiasts.

Scientists discovered a quirk in the proteins of some squirrels and hamsters that helps them behave a bit like a coldblooded animal.

The human body makes tens of thousands of cellular proteins, each for a particular task. Now researchers have learned to create custom versions not found in nature.

Bats and frogs and salamanders have all been hit hard by white nose syndrome and chytrid fungi. Now scientists are warning that snakes worldwide are at risk from a new fungal disease.

The scientific start of winter offers a moment to reflect on how we might not be here to witness the changing seasons without Earth’s particular tilt toward the sun.

NASA will choose on Wednesday from a dozen proposals in its New Frontiers program, including spacecraft to study the moon, Venus, Saturn and comets.