Latest articles by Charles Q. Choi
Flap Flop: Earth's First Bird Not a Bird After All
The new bird on the block? A pigeon-size beast.
Elemental Shift: Periodic Table Gets Weight Changes
Ten elements that help make up the universe, including carbon, are getting their very atomic weights altered.
Snakes on Planes? Serpents Accelerate Faster Than Fighter Pilots
Harmless rat snakes can strike their prey as fast as can venomous vipers, and both snakes reach accelerations that would make humans black out.
No Regrets: Why 'Letting Go' May Be Key to Happy Aging
Life regrets are tied to depression in older adults.
Invisible Plastic Trash Poses Newfound Threat to Sea Life
Waterborne plastic debris could pose a toxic hazard to sea life.
Selfless Chimps Shed Light on Evolution of Altruism
Chimpanzees help strangers without apparent expectation of personal gain.
Human Evolution: Our Closest Living Relatives, the Chimps
Chimpanzees offer many clues as to how we evolved our human traits.
Is it safe for cats to drink milk?
Mother cats nurse kittens, but can older cats safely lap up milk?
Blood Red Skies Over China Explained 300 Years Later
A massive geomagnetic storm that was recorded across East Asia for nine days in 1770 suggests such solar flareups are surprisingly common.
Ice Samples Reveal a Massive Sun Storm Hit Earth in Ancient Times...And It Could Happen Again
A gigantic solar storm hit Earth about 2,600 years ago, one about 10 times stronger than any solar storm recorded in the modern day, a new study finds.
Why do cats lick?
Here's the science behind why cats lick themselves, as well as other animals and even humans.
New class of exoplanet — half-rock, half-water — discovered orbiting red dwarf
A new type of exoplanet has been discovered circling around one of the most common stars in the universe, and it could help in the search for extraterrestrial life.
Did Nero really fiddle while Rome burned?
A well-known expression says that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. But has history misrepresented this infamous ruler?
Genome of Mysterious Extinct Human Reveals Brown-Eyed Girl
... and other surprises are revealed in the Denisovan DNA.
Neanderthals and Denisovans Mated, New Hybrid Bone Reveals
Finally, there's proof that Neanderthals and Denisovans interbred.
Now-Extinct Relative Had Sex with Humans Far and Wide
The Denisovans spanned from Siberia to Asia, leaving evidence of interbreeding in modern humans.
Finger Bone Points to New Branch of Humanity
The finger came from a young girl, who was neither like us nor Neanderthal.
Neanderthals Weren't Humans' Only Mating Partners. Meet the Denisovans.
The mysterious extinct human lineage known as the Denisovans may have interbred with modern humans in at least two separate waves, a new study finds.
DNA from Mysterious 'Denisovans' Helped Modern Humans Survive
Genetic mutations from extinct human relatives called the Denisovans might have influenced modern human immune systems, researchers say.
