Fossils

Half a billion years ago, a strange sea-dwelling creature called Mollisonia symmetrica may have paved the way for modern spiders. Using detailed fossil brain analysis, researchers uncovered neural patterns strikingly similar to today's arachnids—suggesting spiders evolved in the ocean, not on land as previously believed. This brain structure even hints at a critical evolutionary leap that allowed spiders their infamous speed, dexterity, and web-spinning prowess. The findings challenge long-held assumptions about arachnid origins and may even explain why insects took to the skies: to escape their relentless, silk-spinning predators.

Half a billion years ago, a strange sea-dwelling creature called Mollisonia symmetrica may have paved the way for modern spiders. Using detailed fossil brain analysis, researchers uncovered neural patterns strikingly similar to today's arachnids—suggesting spiders evolved in the ocean, not on land as previously believed. This brain structure even hints at a critical evolutionary leap that allowed spiders their infamous speed, dexterity, and web-spinning prowess. The findings challenge long-held assumptions about arachnid origins and may even explain why insects took to the skies: to escape their relentless, silk-spinning predators.

An analysis of 57 studies shows that people who walked a certain number of steps were less likely to die from any cause compared with those who walked less.

Late Cretaceous dinosaur tracks found in Canada might have been made by different species walking together, but the evidence is far from conclusive

Hidden layers of colour in the plumage of tanagers and some other songbirds explain what makes them so eye-catching

Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns may be lengthening fungal allergy season, which starts 3 weeks earlier than it did two decades ago.

A 247-million-year-old fossil reptile boasted an enormous crest on its back made from feather-like appendages, long before the appearance of feathered dinosaurs

An analysis of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti using AI reveals its legal tone and imperial messaging, offering new insights missed by historians.

A 13-million-year-old leg bone from an enormous flightless bird carries crocodilian tooth marks, showing South America was once a predator-eat-predator world

The most-detailed look yet at how we perspire reveals that beads of sweat are out, puddling is in.

Leaf-toed geckos were thought to be locally extinct on Rabida Island, but the diminutive reptiles have re-emerged after a campaign to eliminate invasive rats

A 500-million-year-old sea creature called Mollisonia shared a similar brain structure to modern spiders, suggesting that arachnids first evolved in the sea

Banning screens is often not an option. So Science News spoke with experts studying screen use and addiction in teens to help families navigate this complex issue.

Dropping vaccination rates and changes in U.S. vaccine policy have public health experts concerned that annual measles outbreaks could become more frequent.

Shri rapax, known from a fossil found in Mongolia, had strong hands and teeth which may have helped it tackle much larger dinosaurs

Octopuses can be tricked into thinking that a fake arm is part of their body, suggesting they have a sense of body ownership similar to our own

Revealed by advanced imaging, the long-sought "Betelbuddy" is much smaller and fainter than Betelgeuse and orbits within the supergiant’s atmosphere.

The fungus Entomophthora muscae turns flies into zombies and kills them at sunset. An internal kill clock may explain the mysterious timing.

Exposure to air pollution may trigger DNA mutations that cause lung cancer in nonsmokers.

Editor in Chief Nancy Shute reflects on the renewed specter of nuclear conflict to record-breaking heat driven by human-caused climate change.