Paul Arnold

Paleontologists have long wrestled with the challenge of identifying the genders of dinosaurs from the fossils they leave behind. Once the soft tissues like reproductive organs have decayed away, distinguishing a male from ...

After years of trying, the electronic nose is finally making major progress in sensing smells, almost as well as its human counterpart. That is the conclusion of a scientific review into the development of neuromorphic olfactory ...

For years, astronomers have been on the hunt for the first generation of stars, primordial relics of the early universe. And now they may have just found them. Ari Visbal from the University of Toledo, Ohio and colleagues ...

Scientists have taken an unprecedented look at marine fish species living in the world's oceans by studying traces of genetic material in seawater. One of the most surprising results was discovering species in places where ...

Kevlar has met its match. For decades, it has been the gold standard for impact protection, from bulletproof vests to armored vehicles, and is still widely used. But scientists have now developed a new composite material ...

Every year, around 600 million people are struck down by foodborne illnesses. The culprits are often common yet dangerous bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella, that thrive in undercooked or improperly handled food. These ...

An interstellar comet that originated outside our solar system has just made its closest pass to the sun, brightening dramatically and rapidly as it did so. The reason for the sudden extreme activity is currently puzzling ...

Idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) is a rare, chronic neurological disorder that causes people to feel excessively sleepy during the day, even after getting a full night's rest. Other symptoms include severe difficulty waking up ...

Ochre is an iron-rich mineral pigment that was used by many ancient civilizations for color, decoration and practical tasks such as preserving animal hides and tanning clothing. Recent analysis of fragments of ochre at several ...

As anyone who uses the internet will know, the way we find information has fundamentally changed. For the last three decades, search engines have delivered ranked lists of links in response to our queries, and it was our ...

The microscopic flatworm (Stenostomum brevipharyngium) is one of nature's weirder creatures. Chop off its head, and it'll grow one back. Cut it in half, and it'll become two separate healthy worms. And now scientists have ...

Scientists have developed a proof-of-concept vaccine that could offer broad protection against all known and emerging variants of highly pathogenic avian influenza (A5) viruses, including those that have yet to evolve. This ...

For the first time, brown rats have been filmed actively hunting bats, snatching some from the air and capturing others on the ground. The rodents were caught on camera at bat hibernation sites in northern Germany. According ...

A new study analyzing historical photographs taken by the Palomar Observatory between 1949 and 1957 has detected several mysterious bright spots in the sky. These transient objects, captured on film before the first satellites ...

A talented teenager from the UK has built a four-fingered robotic hand from standard Lego parts that performs almost as well as research-grade robotic hands. The anthropomorphic device can grasp, move and hold objects with ...