Science

Wearing face masks and maintaining social distances were a significant part of the world's reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, new research says the practices are not only effective at saving human lives, but chimp lives as well.

A surprising finding from researchers in Japan has shown how an environmental factor can influence the development of sex organs in unborn mice. The discovery challenges the longstanding belief that sex is determined purely by genetic factors.

A platinum fiddle that's just 35 microns in length and 13 microns in width is believed to be the world's smallest violin, measuring just a fraction of a microscopic tardigrade. But before you get too excited, there's one little twist …

In an impressive feat of urban adaptation, sulphur-crested cockatoos have worked out how to use their feet and their large bodies to twist the taps of drinking fountains. And much like another of their moves, they're learning to do this en masse.

A study has described how certain bacteria living on our skin can act as microbial sunscreen, protecting us from harmful UV rays. These microbes neutralize UV-induced immune changes, offering a natural defense against the damaging effects of sunlight.

A study has uncovered evidence of an extreme ancient solar storm that struck Earth over 14,000 years ago making it the most powerful solar particle storm on record, exceeding the infamous 775 CE storm that was long considered the strongest.

Dawn Aerospace seems to want to play with the big kids as it announces that it will be selling its spaceplane directly to customers the same way that airliner manufacturers market their aircraft, suggesting a major shift in space launch business models.

From fleas to mosquitoes, there's no shortage of organisms we consider pests. But thanks to new genetic detective work, scientists have named and shamed the resilient, highly adaptive – and frustratingly hard to kill – bug that got to us first.

Drawing parallels with other species, not naming names, the voices of female frogs are being drowned out by their much louder and boisterous male counterparts – so much so we don't know how nearly 99% of the ladies even sound.

One of the worries about microplastic pollution is the possibility that the particles may accumulate harmful bacteria in the environment, then pass them on to us. Well, that capability could soon put the particles to work as sewage monitors.