Quirks and Quarks

New research confirms that dogs were the first animal to form a domestic relationship with humans, dating back to the end of the last Ice Age almost 16,000 years ago.

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• Constructing shelters out of Martian soil may be possible with bacterial help
• Male-on-male cricket 'twerking' and 'booty bumping' is not a case of mistaken identity
• Narrowing down potential alien signals from 12 billion to 100, thanks to SETI 
• Researchers find a brain switch in mice to turn a deadbeat dad into a doting one

An unusual hellscape of a planet found 34 light years from Earth has a deep ocean of molten magma surrounded by noxious, hot, rotten egg-type fumes. It just may be the most uninhabitable alien landscape we've ever come across.

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• Neanderthal DNA can help explain how human faces form
• Nearly indestructible teeny tiny tardigrades struggle to survive in Martian dirt
• Tiny tags on monarch butterflies allow scientists to track their exact migration route
• A weird fish has a big hole in its head. Scientists finally have an idea why.

We used to think that of our primate relatives, chimps were the more aggressive ape and bonobos were more peaceful. A recent study found that bonobos are just as antagonistic as chimps, but it's the females targeting males.

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• Mission to deflect an asteroid was a smashing success
• Low gravity environments can lead to stronger blood clots in astronauts
• From fire to galaxy formation, a celebration of friction as a fundamental force
• Winter spiders survive subzero temperatures with a potent antifreeze

You may have seen Black Hole, the image, but have you heard of the upcoming Black Hole, The Movie? This week, astronomers launched a new campaign to capture video footage of the supermassive black hole pulsing at the heart of the M87 galaxy.

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• Sunlight and fungi inspiration can help recycle plastic waste into vinegar
• Ancient kangaroos were hopping giants
• How monogamy helps termite colonies number in the millions
• Our infant universe's primordial soup was soupy, according to new study 

Starfish don't have brains, and yet they're able to mobilize hundreds of tiny hydraulic tube feet to get around. Now scientists are getting an understanding of just how they do that.

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• Atmospheric pollution from an individual rocket re-entry event measured for the first time
• How the Earth’s greenhouse age transitioned into a world with frozen poles
• What is dark matter? The contenders — from WIMPs to dark matter stars
• Quirks Question: why doesn’t flowing water freeze at the same temperature as still water?

(Correction: A previous version of the dark matter story referred to a study published last fall that mapped the distribution of dark matter, but the study was published on Jan. 26, 2026.)

From the pressurized space suits to living in underground spaces, it's clear that living on Mars would cause irreversible biological changes to any humans living there, to the point that it may be impossible for them or their descendants to return to Earth. With bigger heads and lighter bodies, might we also end up looking like Martians?

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• Yellowstone’s predators battle it out, and wolves remain top dog
• fossil of the earliest veggie-eater found in Nova Scotia
• Covid is disappearing in animals, which is good news for deer but not as good for humans
• how genes affect our lifespan more than we thought

An elephant’s trunk is incredibly strong and rugged, and yet it is one of the most sensitive touch organs in the animal kingdom. New research reveals that this sensitivity is partly powered by over 1000 whiskers.

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• A new 'inside out' solar system is making astronomers question planet formation
• Paleo-Inuit people in the high Arctic were masterful seafarers, new study shows
• Two-month-old babies can categorize objects in their brain
• How insects deal with smog or microplastics can impact them and the environment

Researchers made the surprising discovery that Alaska beluga whales have swinging sex lives — and that could be their key to survival in the warming Arctic.

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• mission to the 'doomsday' Thwaites glacier in Antarctica ends in disappointment
• near-infrared light therapy offers hope to football players with brain injuries
• with nuclear power making a comeback, what's changed since the last Atomic Age?

Scientists spent nearly 25 years studying close to 800 polar bears in the Barents Sea region and discovered that those polar bears seem to be doing just fine, even though melting sea ice is also a major issue.

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• Sargassum seaweed is becoming such a problem, you can see it from space
• Why some people only get mild sniffles with a cold and others get sick
• A woolly rhino's DNA found in an ancient wolf’s stomach reveals their quick demise
• How to change a memory — one scientist's quest to understand memory permanence

Some dogs are more adept at learning language than others. Researchers studying these special dogs discovered that, much like toddlers, these smart furry canine companions can pick up words just by eavesdropping on their owners' conversations.

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• Tracking space debris using seismometers
• Using nitrogen to boost trees
• How Mars shapes our climate
• Extracting ice age mammoth RNA and using lichens to find dino bones