Category Science

How few corners can a shape have and still tile the plane?” mathematician Gábor Domokos asked me over pizza. His deceptively simple question was about the geometry of tilings, also called tessellations—arrangements of shapes, called tiles or cells, that fill…

Females sleep less, wake more often, and experience less restorative sleep than males, according to a new study on mice. The findings highlight critical biological differences in sleep patterns and suggest the need for more inclusive research practices in biomedical…

The minke whale is a smaller species of baleen whale Kerstin Meyer/Getty Images Brainwave testing of two young baleen whales has revealed they can hear higher frequency sounds than previously thought, forcing researchers to rethink how the ocean’s largest animals…

November 19, 2024 4 min read Concussions Are Remarkably Common and Can Cause Long-Term Problems New diagnostic techniques can pick up these brain injuries and ensure people get help By Lydia Denworth Fifteen years ago I slipped on a wet…

Browsing negative content online can worsen mental health, creating a self-reinforcing feedback loop, according to researchers from University College London (UCL). They also tested a novel browser tool designed to help users make healthier online choices, showing promising results for…

Some chimpanzees use sticks to fish for termites Manoj Shah/Getty Images Wild chimpanzees appear to learn skills from each other and then – much as humans do – improve on those techniques from one generation to the next. In particular,…

The world is full of things to learn. Where to start? How to choose what to pay attention to? What motivates someone to seek new knowledge? The desire to learn is partly a preference for novelty: we tend to seek…

Between green-shadeand ash-breath,the sky-ribbons twist –each thread unwoundby sparks.Bark-spirits scatter,fingers of soot reachingthrough a smoke-skin veilas root-anchors holdthe soil’s old song.Ash-rivers pool,pressing weightinto lung-roadswhere soft breaths falter –the air, now a sievefor unseen spearsto piercewhat remains.Still, a flame-catch shiftsto smoulder’s…

3D laser scan of the specimen, Uncus dzaugisi Mary L. Droser A worm-like creature preserved in ancient rock has just been identified as the oldest known relative of insects, spiders and crustaceans. The ecdysozoans are a group of invertebrate animals…

November 19, 2024 2 min read Book Review: An Expansive New Translation of a Haruki Murakami Classic In End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland, the title is flipped, but cyberpunk pleasures remain By Matt Bell End of the World…