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14 stories from Planck Standard. Latest: July 16, 2026.
Frogs from populations that bounce back from the devastating chytrid fungus load up on protective skin peptides while they are still tadpoles, UCL researchers found — arming themselves before the disease strikes at metamorphosis.
University of Michigan researchers identified specialized neurons wired to the body's finest hairs that trigger mechanical itch — a finding that could unlock new treatments for eczema and chronic itching.
A Loma Linda University team traced the 'baby snakes can't control their venom' scare back to 1960s news reports — and showed that adult rattlesnakes actually deliver far more venom and cause worse bites.
A study of chimps, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans and people found that all of them giggle with the same underlying rhythm, hinting at the deep roots of human speech.
In the journal Neuron, Cold Spring Harbor scientists propose that brain cells find their place by tracking their own lineage — a positioning system that could also inform AI design.
Drawing on recordings of hundreds of companion parrots, researchers found striking evidence that some birds attach specific names to specific individuals — not just mimicry, but labels.
Researchers who sequenced the two-toed sloth genome found unique mobile DNA elements, conserved over 30 million years, that appear linked to the animal’s famously sluggish metabolism.
A University of Michigan study finds beneficial mutations are surprisingly common, then explains why they almost never take over — a one-two punch that reframes the famous Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution.
In a tiny worm, two proteins form a feedback loop that fires bursts of genes in precise, never-repeating order — the first non-repeating biological clock ever found.
Scientists report that iron-loaded immune cells in the pigeon liver may act as tiny magnetic sensors, helping the birds read Earth's magnetic field — a finding one researcher called 'mind-blowing.'
A study in Nature Communications shows Pilea peperomioides arranges its leaf veins as a Voronoi diagram, the same mathematical pattern engineers use to optimize networks.
Groundbreaking study suggests fundamental constants sit within incredibly narrow range that allows biological fluids to flow properly inside living cells.
Researchers reveal how phosphoric acid efficiently moves electrical charges in biology and technology by freezing key molecular structures to near absolute zero.
Breakthrough research reveals how electrical charges move so efficiently through biological systems and energy technologies.