Animals
In 2024, bird flu posed big risks — and to far more than birds
Cows, elephant seals and polar bears are among unexpected bird flu casualties. Learn about potential risks to them, to people and to our food supplies.
Word of the Week
Archaeology
Scientists Say: Stone Age
This vast, mysterious stretch of time marks the dawn of human civilizations.
Technically Fiction
Space
Spacecraft need an extra boost to travel between stars
Star Wars makes space travel look easy by breaking the laws of physics. Off-screen, the technology for spacecraft to reach other worlds doesn’t exist yet.
Explainers
Chemistry
Explainer: How cells use chemistry to make the electricity of life
Charged particles, or ions, constantly move in and out of cells. These migrations produce tiny electric currents, which power your brain, heart and more.
What's Hot
Hurricane season
Watch This
Play the video
A springtail’s spring-loaded backflip is fast — really fast
Globular springtails can seem to vanish as they spin backwards at rates of up to 368 rotations per second! So don’t blink.
