This is the first study of copycat urination in an animal These chimps at a sanctuary in Japan display surprisingly contagious bathroom behavior. Kumamoto Sanctuary Hate waiting in line for the bathroom? Chimpanzees have a social solution: Go all at once. A new study shows that peeing is contagious in chimpanzees, making it “the first

If cigarettes contained very little of the chemical that keeps people smoking, it could help smokers move away from these deadly products. That’s the rationale behind a new rule proposed on January 15 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which seeks to limit the amount of the addictive chemical nicotine in cigarettes. The reduced-nicotine

Even as firefighters are starting to gain ground on the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, residents there are just beginning to grapple with the emotional trauma of the disaster. The fires have, so far, left more than two dozen people dead and destroyed over 10,000 structures and homes, with those numbers expected to rise. People

It’s a pivotal moment for nuclear weapons.  Tensions between the United States and Russia, the two major nuclear powers, are high. Longstanding nuclear pacts have crumbled. China, which trails well behind the United States and Russia in nuclear arms, is beefing up its arsenal. North Korea is a nuclear threat, and Iran is on the threshold.

Gyrating objects should be hourglass-shaped to hold a hoop steady Experiments with hula-hooping robots revealed how the hoops stay up, providing some tips for humans aiming to perfect their technique. Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images To keep a Hula-Hoop aloft, it helps to be in shape — literally. Experiments with gyrating, hoop-slinging robots have revealed how these

One of the most extreme megadroughts has helped fuel California’s wildfires Prolonged droughts have become longer, more intense and more frequent in the last 30 years. A megadrought in southwestern North America, which affected California’s Nicasio Reservoir, (shown in 2021) topped the list of the 10 most severe events in that period. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A meat-rich diet may have not emerged before the evolution of other groups like Homo Early human ancestors, Australopithecus africanus (illustrated), may have had primarily vegetarian diets, new research suggests. Raúl Martín/MSF/Science Source Some of our species’ earliest ancestors may have spent a lot more time eating salad than steak. An analysis of the chemical

Astronomers have determined the internal composition of a distant planet for the first time Disintegrating exoplanets, like the one illustrated here, spill their guts into space in a long cometlike tail. JPL-Caltech/NASA NATIONAL HARBOR, MD. — For the first time, astronomers have taken a direct look at an exoplanet’s insides. An exoplanet about 800 light-years

After a year of rising bird flu cases among people in the United States, researchers are keeping a watchful eye on the H5N1 virus to slow further spread. Since early 2024, the country has recorded 66 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza caused by H5N1. Farm workers who caught the virus from infected cattle or

Ice cores hint at a volcanic eruption around the time of the burial in Stone Age Denmark More than 100 engraved stones unearthed in Denmark depict images of the sun. The stones, including the two shown here, may have been buried as part of a ritual to bring back the sun after a volcanic eruption