notebook

Nearly all mouse sperm have hooks on their heads. But new research suggests the structures slow them down—so what exactly is their purpose?

A handful of new studies moves the needle toward a consensus on the long-disputed question of whether insect wings evolved from legs or from the body wall, but the devil is in the details.

These social animals keep tabs on aggressive members of the group and groom them less after fights to punish them.

The glossy shell of some beetles, it has long been speculated, helps hide the insects from predators. A recent paper put the hypothesis to the test—and found it wanting.

Scientists in Canada trace how aquatic communities change as Quebec’s Romaine River flows into the sea.

Researchers discover that bacteria break down medicinal compounds for their nitrogen, solving a mystery that has vexed aquatic veterinarians for years.

The discovery that what was long believed to be one fly species is actually two deepens researchers’ understanding of plant-pollinator relationships in a unique habitat in southern Africa.

Researchers also tried placing the worms on pigeons as part of a study aiming to uncover how the tiny invertebrates ended up all around the world.

Analysis of data from a new satellite sensor helps researchers detect large patches of bioluminescence in the oceans faster than ever before.

While exploring suspended animation in mice, scientists discover how an enzyme can protect the brain from dangerously low levels of oxygen.

Researchers discover that when the mind wanders or goes blank, some parts of the brain behave as they do during sleep.

A handful of high schoolers prompt scientists to develop a new approach for calculating the size of the ancient behemoth.

Sergii Mirnyi, one of the people who helped clean up after the 1986 disaster, says he founded Chornobyl University to promote much-needed interdisciplinary research on the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

By measuring various pollutants in the immediate vicinity of pregnant women and tracking brain development of their children, researchers in Barcelona aim to untangle any influence the former has on the latter.

High altitude is a natural laboratory for investigating pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia and gestational hypertension, that restrict a fetus’s oxygen supply.

A group of self-styled screamologists are sifting through the noisiness of nonverbal human vocalizations and finding previously undemonstrated forms of communication.

The Scientist checks in on scientists who switched gears to combat the pandemic.

More and more people are traveling around the world to watch the luminous displays of fireflies, but tourism-related light pollution and habitat degradation threaten to snuff out the insects at some locations.