Life

Animals

Explainer: What are cicadas?

There are more than 3,000 species of cicadas, but the best known in North America are periodical cicadas, which emerge every 13 or 17 years.

Animals

How bees play telephone to form a swarm

Honeybees use pheromones and flapping wings to tell each other where to find the queen — so they can all be together. Learn more with this web comic.

Animals

Scientists Say: Genus

A genus is a group of closely related species. It’s the first part of the two-part system called binomial nomenclature, used to name living things.

Climate

Urchin takeover underlies California’s vanishing kelp forests

Some 95 percent of kelp forests along its northern coast are gone. Meanwhile, sea otters are helping slow the loss of surviving kelp farther south.

Animals

Let’s learn about dogs

From learning the names of their toys to sniffing out viruses in human sweat, dogs are far more than household pets.

Brain

Patterns in brain activity can identify who will struggle to read

Certain patterns of brain activity predict whether teens are strong readers or will struggle. Those diagnostic patterns show up even when doing math.

Fossils

Dinosaur-killing asteroid radically changed Earth’s tropical forests

The asteroid collision initially reduced the diversity in what had been sunny tropical rainforests. In time, the forests would become permanently darker.

Microbes

Several plant-like algae can morph into animal-like predators

Single-celled green algae swim through water as free cells. Most use only photosynthesis for their energy. But not all of them, a new study shows.

Brain

Explainer: What is a neuron?

From the moment you are born, cells called neurons sense information, process it and then pass it on. Neurons allow you to do everything that you do.

Brain

Search for ‘rewards’ is big driver in remodeling a teen’s brain

Communication ‘highways’ in the brain undergo a major overhaul as children morph into adults. Dopamine plays a big role in this remodeling project.

Brain

Let’s learn about exercise

Our bodies — from our muscles to our brains — love a good workout. Scientists are always learning new things about exercise.

Animals

Scientists Say: Dinosaur

Dinosaurs emerged between 243 and 233 million years ago. While some died out 66 million years ago, others are still with us — birds.