Axios

Zoo Atlanta officials say they've started talks with China to bring back giant pandas to the city.

Driving the news: Zoo officials announced Wednesday that they were "engaging in dialogue" with China and would begin preliminary design work on a giant panda complex to prepare for the big ole goofy creatures' future — but yet to be determined — return.

Cuts hit the National Science Foundation on Tuesday, the latest in a string of terminations at top U.S. science agencies that conduct or support climate research.

Why it matters: Fears are growing within the scientific community that arbitrary firings of government scientists will set back U.S. leadership in a slew of fields.

Scientists have found genetics played a big role in why humans began talking — and they think this singular ability was key to our survival, AP reports.

Why it matters: A study out Tuesday links a particular gene to the ancient origins of spoken language. So a protein variant found only in humans may have helped us communicate in a novel way.