Did global warming play a role in Japan’s devastating floods?
A freak set of weather events led to tropical storm Etau dumping record amounts of rainfall, but climate change may have played a part too
Great tits and blue tits battle by laying eggs in enemy nests
Hostile nest takeovers and sneaky egg laying defines the interspecies warfare that may result in chicks with confused identity
Exoskeleton reveals lengths we go to save energy when walking
We naturally shift our gait even if it saves minuscule amounts of energy – a finding that could help rehabilitate people with spinal injuries
One Per Cent
Control a drone swarm, AI takes school tests and robo-reporter files its first story
Speed dating shows arranged bird marriages lead to bad parenting
Zebra finches who raised chicks with their mate of choice proved to be better parents than those that had an arranged partnership
Crowdsourcing a solution works best if some don’t help
There is wisdom in crowds, but people's natural tendency to freeload means crowsourcing works best if the crowd size is relatively small
Crops farmed by leafcutter ants show signs of domestication
Fungus-farming ants seem to have selected for genome duplications in their crop, just like like human farmers did, allowing them to expand the size of their colonies
Global warming slowdown could be over as temperatures soar
Huge events this year, such as the El Niño and changes to ocean currents are set to alter our weather far into the future, making 2015 pivotal for our climate
US-Cuba thaw could bring important gains for cancer research
An emphasis on health research has helped Cuba develop a lung cancer vaccine. As its relationship with the US improves, people everywhere might benefit
60 Seconds
Star Wars's threat to seabirds, North Korean nuclear reboot, coffee's body clock reset and more
