The pygmy sea horse is an inch-long fish that lives on corals in the Pacific. The corals, fan-shaped and knobby, are venomous, yet the sea horse can safely wrap its tail around a branch to feed on tiny animals passing by.

Some species of pygmy sea horse are pink, others are yellow, each a perfect match to the species of coral on which it lives. The sea horse also has knobs on its body to match the size and spacing of the knobs on its corals. Instead of the typical sea horse snout, the pygmy sea horse has a face like a pug; its snout resembles yet another coral knob.

Continue reading “How the Pygmy Sea Horse Lost Its Snout” →

For more than 260 years, scientists have consider giraffes a single species. Giraffa camelopardalis, as it was long known, existed across thousands of miles of African grasslands and woodlands.

But scientists now see giraffes differently. One species is officially four, the International Union for Conservation of Nature announced on Thursday. Conservation biologists will now evaluate the status of each; preliminary data suggest three of the species are threatened with extinction.

Continue reading “Scientists Split Giraffes Into Four Species. Three Are in Trouble.” →

For decades, neuroengineers have dreamed of helping people who have been cut off from the world of language.

A disease like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or A.L.S., weakens the muscles in the airway. A stroke can kill neurons that normally relay commands for speaking. Perhaps, by implanting electrodes, scientists could instead record the brain’s electric activity and translate that into spoken words.

Continue reading “For Some Patients, the ‘Inner Voice’ May Soon Be Audible” →

For years, whistle-blowers have warned that fake results are sneaking into the scientific literature at an increasing pace. A new statistical analysis backs up the concern.

A team of researchers found evidence of shady organizations churning out fake or low-quality studies on an industrial scale. And their output is rising fast, threatening the integrity of many fields.

Continue reading “Fraudulent Scientific Papers Are Rapidly Increasing, Study Finds” →

At the heart of all life is a code. Our cells use it to turn the information in our DNA into proteins. So do maple trees. So do hammerhead sharks. So do shiitake mushrooms. Except for some minor variations, the genetic code is universal.

It’s also redundant. DNA can code for the same building block of proteins in more than one way. Researchers have long debated what purpose this redundancy serves — or whether it’s just an accident of history.

Continue reading “Scientists Are Learning to Rewrite the Code of Life” →