All Stories
- Climate
2018 was the fourth-hottest year on record, and it’s getting even hotter
Record-level rains and temperatures struck different regions of the world in 2018, the fourth warmest year on record.
- Climate
Collapsing ice cliffs may not contribute to sea level rise
Scientists debate a controversial hypothesis that suggests that massive crumbling ice cliffs could speed up future sea level rise.
- Health & Medicine
Why some children may get strep throat more often than others
Kids with recurrent strep throat appear to have a defective immune response to the bacteria that cause the infections, a study finds.
- Plants
Shutdown aside, Joshua trees live an odd life
Growing only in the U.S. Southwest, wild Joshua trees evolved a rare, fussy pollination scheme.
- Genetics
What FamilyTreeDNA sharing genetic data with police means for you
Law enforcement can now use one company’s private DNA database to investigate rapes and murders.
- Animals
How black soldier fly larvae can demolish a pizza so fast
When gorging together, fly larvae create a living fountain that whooshes slowpokes up and away.
- Planetary Science
A basketball-sized rock hit the moon during the last lunar eclipse
Professional and amateur astronomers joined forces to analyze the impact.
- Physics
Laser light can contain intricate, beautiful fractals
Fractals show up in cauliflower, seashells and now — lasers.
- Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is learning not to be so literal
Artificial intelligence is learning how to take things not so literally.
- Astronomy
A space rock collision may explain how this exoplanet was born
Simulations suggest a planet roughly 2,000 light-years away formed when two space rocks collided, supporting the idea that such events are universal.
- Genetics
DNA from extinct red wolves lives on in some mysterious Texas coyotes
Mystery canids on Texas’ Galveston Island carry red wolf DNA, thought to be extinct in the wild for 40 years.
- Climate
‘The Human Element’ makes the impacts of climate change feel real
Photographer James Balog puts a human face on the impacts of climate change in the documentary The Human Element.
