Jupiter’s moon Io, the most volcanically active body in the solar system, is littered with hundreds of erupting volcanoes. High-resolution images now reveal several dozen lava lakes, researchers report in the February Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. These lakes are far larger than their analogs on Earth, and their structure sheds light on how magma…
Cloud forests are strange and ghostly places — akin to coral reefs hidden high on tropical mountains. Stunted trees loom in the mist, gnarled trunks and branches crusted in moss, lichens, orchids, ferns, bromeliads and even climbing cactus vines. Arboreal frogs and salamanders spawn in fog-fed bromeliad pools, and spider monkeys pause to sip drinks….
Labrador retriever owners are likely familiar with how persistent their dogs can be in their quest for food, whether begging under the dinner table or stealing a snack left unattended. It’s no surprise, then, that Labs are among the most overweight dog breeds, along with golden retrievers, cocker spaniels and beagles. Scientists have now identified…
Treatment for two rather than one may help prevent another bout of a common and unpleasant vaginal syndrome. For many women who develop bacterial vaginosis, the syndrome returns weeks or months after treatment. A clinical trial of women in monogamous relationships with male partners found that treating both partners significantly reduced the likelihood of recurrence,…
For centuries, mathematicians and floor designers alike have been fascinated by the shapes that can tile a plane — in particular, those that do so without repetition. Now, a team of chemists has described a molecule that naturally assembles into these irregular patterns, laying the groundwork for engineering materials that behave differently from regular solids. “When…
Ancient human relatives crafted sharp-edged tools out of animal bones around 1.5 million years ago, researchers say. Discoveries at Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge, a famous East African fossil location, represent the oldest known evidence of systematic bone tool production by hominids, according to archaeologist Ignacio de la Torre of CSIC-Spanish National Research Council in Madrid and…