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Miocene South America was packed with giant prey--and the predators hunting them were just as spectacular. Fossil bite marks suggest crocodylians, especially the enormous Purussaurus neivensis, were more important predators than mammals in this ...

A tomb in Egypt's Theban Necropolis reveals a surprisingly organized story of burial, reuse, and changing beliefs spanning hundreds of years. Researchers found 16 mummified people, the remains of at least four more, and a mummified dog, with burials ...

Silver nanoparticles can precisely slice DNA and create longer "sticky ends," helping genetic fragments join up to five times more efficiently than conventional methods. The breakthrough could eventually simplify the construction of large DNA ...

A newly discovered Arctic process can dramatically boost the number of particles that help form clouds. Near melting sea ice, sunlight reacts with chemicals released by the ocean, algae, and ice, causing cloud-seeding particles to multiply by as much ...

Scientists are searching some of Earth's oldest rocks for tiny fossils that could reveal how simple microbial life made the extraordinary leap toward plants, animals, and other complex organisms. Solving that ancient mystery may also help determine . ...

Nature invented biodegradable plastic long before humans did--and animals may have been feeding on it for hundreds of millions of years. Researchers discovered that dozens of animal species possess enzymes capable of breaking down microbial ...

Scientists have discovered a new extinct amphibian species hiding in the fossil collections of Los Angeles' La Brea Tar Pits. Named Spea labreae, the Ice Age spadefoot toad is an exceptionally rare find--only one other extinct Pleistocene amphibian . ...

Rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may be leaving a measurable imprint inside the human body. Researchers analyzing more than two decades of U.S. health data found that blood bicarbonate levels have climbed about 7% since 1999, while calcium and ...

Fossils collected in Osaka more than 30 years ago have revealed a surprise hiding in plain sight: four previously unrecognized bones from a giant Cretaceous mosasaur. Among them is the first confirmed premaxilla--the frontmost bone of the upper jaw- ...

Scientists have long thought an unusual genetic system helped ants, bees, and wasps evolve their extraordinary social colonies. A massive new analysis suggests that genetics alone can't explain it--and the real secret may lie in other traits unique . ...