Life
- Life
Let’s learn about the hunt for alien life
Finding any extraterrestrials, from advanced alien civilizations to simple microbes, would be an unmatched discovery.
- Earth
Analyze This: Nutrients from sewage may harm coastal ecosystems
A new model suggests that 58 percent of coral reefs and 88 percent of seagrass beds are exposed to excess nitrogen from wastewater.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Experiment
An experiment is a set of procedures to learn about the world — and an important part of the scientific process.
- Archaeology
Vikings were in North America 1,000 years ago
Wooden objects provide the most precise dating yet for a Viking settlement on the coast of Newfoundland in Canada.
- Animals
Fossils point to earliest dinosaurs that lived in herds
A fossilized family gathering of long-necked Mussaurus from 193 million years ago is the earliest evidence yet of herd behavior in dinos.
- Animals
Explainer: The age of dinosaurs
Take a trip back to the Mesozoic Era to explore how geologic events, ecosystems and evolution were connected during the so-called age of dinosaurs.
- Agriculture
The ultimate genealogical search hunts for our earliest ancestors
The complex search to identify humans’ most distant cousins is long, complex and far from straightforward. It’s also far from over.
- Archaeology
Genetics show humans likely trace back to Africa
Our history began looking ever more complex once geneticists revealed our ancestors picked up new DNA as they traveled across time and continents.
- Animals
Baleen whales eat — and poop — a lot more than we thought
The amount of food that some whales eat and then poop out suggests these animals have a powerful influence over ocean ecosystems.
- Brain
Want to improve your reading skills? You might just need more space
A simple change by publishers and Web designers could help kids — both with and without dyslexia — read faster and better.
- Ecosystems
Leaky sewer pipes pollute urban streams and bays with drugs
Scientists find that leaking sewer pipes around Baltimore, Md., spew thousands of doses of medicines into the Chesapeake Bay and other waterways.
- Plants
Let’s learn about meat-eating plants
Carnivorous plants use a variety of strategies to lure in and capture their prey, from sticky traps to jawlike leaves.
