Earth & Sky

Columbia University paleontologist Steve Brusatte thinks dinosaurs might have been ‘just lucky’ to have ruled Earth for so long.

Kidnapped and enslaved ant ‘nannies’ might be rebelling against their ant captors, according to biologist Susanne Foitzik of Munich, Germany.

A group of large-brained prehistoric people – scientist call them the Boskops – might have been even smarter than modern humans. But if the Boskops had so much brain power, why didn’t they survive?

Hear astronomer Katrina Exter, on solving the ‘puzzle’ of Shuster West 2, a glowing ring of ionized gases over 4,000 light years away.

Astronomer Michael Liu talks about the most lightweight stellar objects found outside our solar system. It’s a pair of brown dwarfs – sometimes called ‘failed stars’ because they lack enough mass to sustain the nuclear reactions that let stars like our sun light up.

Scientists have discovered a type of tiny nematode parasite that disguises an ant as a fruit. These nematodes have managed to trick birds into eating their hosts, said tropical insect ecologist Steve Yanoviak.