Paleo in the News

A fossilized Caribbean dirt ant, Basiceros enana, preserved in Dominican amber, reveals the species ancient range and overturns assumptions about its size evolution. Advanced imaging shows it already had the camouflage adaptations of modern relatives, offering new insights into extinction and survival strategies.

A fossilized Caribbean dirt ant, Basiceros enana, preserved in Dominican amber, reveals the species ancient range and overturns assumptions about its size evolution. Advanced imaging shows it already had the camouflage adaptations of modern relatives, offering new insights into extinction and survival strategies.

A fossilized Caribbean dirt ant, Basiceros enana, preserved in Dominican amber, reveals the species ancient range and overturns assumptions about its size evolution. Advanced imaging shows it already had the camouflage adaptations of modern relatives, offering new insights into extinction and survival strategies.

The deformed wing and sacbrood viruses were thought to cause asymptomatic infections in adult bees. But the viruses make the insects fly slower and faster than normal, respectively

Aerosols, small particles in the atmosphere like salt and dust, may offset a third of human-caused climate warming, though their influence is fading.

Flu viruses often enter the body through mucous tissue in the nose. Researchers are developing new ways to protect such areas.

The invasive spotted lanternfly has spread to 17 states and can threaten vineyards. But bats, fungi, dogs and even trees may help control them.

In two studies of mice, a molecule called leukotriene helped trigger food-induced anaphylaxis. A drug approved for asthma — zileuton — diminished it.

Alpha Centauri A, four light-years from Earth, may host a gas giant. If confirmed, no Earthlike planets orbit in the star’s habitable zone.

Researchers reconstructed a roughly 2,000-year-old woman’s tattoos, from prowling tigers to a fantastical griffinlike creature.

A proclivity for dancing seems to be found in at least 10 species of cockatoo, and the birds will even jive to white noise or a financial podcast

Social media influencers are convinced that the number of lobes on the base of a bell pepper give us information about its sex and taste. James Wong debunks this myth with some science

The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

From squat toadstools to web-like mushrooms, images from Funga Obscura celebrate some of the most striking fungi on our planet

Excavated implements suggest a Homo species arrived on Sulawesi over 1 million years ago, before a nearby island hosted hobbit ancestors.

A gene called IBSH1 helped spreading earthmoss thrive at high gravity, hinting at how plants adapted to photosynthesize on land.

Golden apple snails can regrow full, functional eyes. Studying their genes may reveal how to repair human eye injuries.

The unique architecture of some ball-like plants high in trees in Fiji lets violent ants live peacefully and feed the plant with valuable droppings.

Government agencies are rapidly adopting AI, but experts warn the push may outpace privacy safeguards and leave data vulnerable to leaks and attacks.

Tyrannosaurus rex might be the most famous meat-eater of all time, but it turns out it wasn’t the only way to be a terrifying giant. New research shows that while T. rex evolved a skull designed for bone-crushing bites like a modern crocodile, other massive carnivorous dinosaurs like spinosaurs and allosaurs took a very different route — specializing in slashing and tearing flesh instead.