Crickets Fire Rings of Air

African cave crickets have been found to communicate by using their wings to fire doughnut-shaped vortices of air at potential mates, a method that is silent and eliminates detection by predators and which might be adapted for stealthy and secure robotic communications.

Stingless Stingrays Discovered

Long sold commercially as pets, scientists have gathered enough specimens to identify two new species of freshwater stingless stingrays (Heliotrygon rosai and H. gomesi) native to the Amazon and distinct enough to justify creating a whole new genus.

Enceladus Generating Power

New data from the Cassini spacecraft show that the internal heat-generated power of Saturn's moon Enceladus as detected through linear fissures at its southern polar region is more than an order of magnitude greater than expected, with the mechanism of this power output unknown.

Impact Crater in DR Congo

Initially described in 1919 and recently seen on satellite images in the 1990s, the so-called Luizi structure in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been confirmed as the first known impact crater in central Africa after shatter cones were discovered on-site.

Laboratory-Grown Urethras

For the first time, researchers have used a body's own cells to build custom urethras to replace damaged tissue in five male patients by growing a combination of smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells in a laboratory on a biodegradable scaffold.

Tools and Hand Evolution

New research shows that the evolution of the unique features of the human hand is a direct result of the use of simple Stone Age cutting tools that evolved away from features adapted more for locomotion, confirming a theory first proposed by Charles Darwin.

Rare Cosmic Explosion

Observation of a rare coincidence of events, including a powerful gamma-ray burst and the x-ray radiation of its associated supernova explosion, astronomers are able to further support the theory that these mysterious phenomena are associated with the destruction of stars.

"Zombie" Ant Fungus

A newly discovered fungus (Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani) in the Brazilian rain forest creates "zombie" ants by infecting their brain and directing them to an optimal place for the fungus to grow and spread its spres.

Earthquake from Space

The February 22nd earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, has been mapped by a Japanese spacecraft in orbit, building a synthetic aperture radar interferogram showing the deformation of Earth's crust due to the magnitude 6.3 event.

Invasive Amphibian Species

Invasive amphibian species such as the marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus) are more likely to thrive in areas in which similar species are already established, contradicting Darwin's hypothesis that such invasive species would be unsuccessful due to competition for resources.

Humans and Shakey Ground

Scientists have established a link between the shape of the landscape and the habitats preferred by early humans, finding Australopithecus africanus adapted to mixed or mosaic habitats often created by active tectonic earth movements near rivers or lakes.

Oldest Known Pteranodon

Fossilized bones of the left wing of a Pteranodon species discovered north of Dallas by an amateur fossil hunter is the first such specimen found in Texas dating to 89 million years ago, making it the oldest remains of a pterosaur yet found.

Shifts in Human Evolution

A new computational analysis suggests that instead of being driven by classic selective sweeps in which beneficial adaptations spread broadly through the population, human evolution has been primarily influenced by smaller, subtle shifts in multiple genes.

Earliest New World Remains

Anthropologists have discovered the remains of a cremated three-year-old child that date back 11,500 years ago at a site in what is now Alaska, making them the earliest human remains found in the New World and shedding light on human migration from Asia to North America.