Colorado State University

Wild elephants have exhibited a rare ability among animals: communicating with others in their social circle using individual ‘names.’ The new research suggests that their human-like communication may mean elephants are capable of complex thought.

The first Martian colonists will need to figure out how to grow their own food locally, but the soil is less than ideal. A new study has shown that dosing plants with symbiotic bacteria can drastically improve their growth in barren Mars-like soil.

Scientists have observed snakes using an entirely unknown way of getting around. Brown tree snakes in Guam have been spotted climbing objects by wrapping themselves into a never-before-seen “lasso” shape.

We're on the brink of a sixth major extinction event, largely thanks to human activity and climate change. The least we could do is try to prevent some of them, and now a study has quantified how many species we may have saved in the last few decades.

A new long-term study has found high levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in wild dolphins, with rates growing over the last decade.

​In developing nations, unscrupulous companies routinely produce counterfeit or diluted antibiotics. Unfortunately, those same countries often lack the expensive lab equipment needed to detect fakes. There could be hope, however, in the form of a simple new paper device.

Researchers have broken the efficiency record for nuclear fusion on the micro-scale. Using an ultra-fast, high-powered laser, the results were about 500 times more efficient than previous experiments. The researchers blasted arrays of nanowires to create incredibly hot, dense plasmas.

Déjà vu is an eerie feeling, and it's weirder when it’s coupled with the feeling that a person can predict what’s about to happen. To investigate, cognitive psychologist Anne Cleary has developed a technique to induce déjà vu, and test whether it really helps people predict the immediate future.

​​Every summer millions of birds flock to the Arctic, and every summer an abnormal amount of cloud particles form in the atmosphere over the same region, the result of a thick layer of bird poop that coats much of the local landscape. ​

Researchers at the Colorado State University have developed varieties of potato that are as rich in antioxidants as blueberries and pomegranates. They also contain other vitamins and minerals that could help prevent a range of diseases.

The Hoope ring is worn on the thumb, and can reportedly diagnose diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia and trichomoniasis in less than a minute. It could also be adapted to detect other conditions.

In order to regain their sense of hearing, many deaf people currently opt for cochlear implants. Such devices are expensive, however, plus they must be surgically installed. That's why researchers are developing an electric retainer that transmits spoken words to the user by buzzing their tongue.