Life
- Plants
For some trees, acting as lightning rods helps them survive
Being struck by lightning is usually bad. But for one tropical tree, a mighty zap can kill rivals and parasitic vines.
- Space
Is the International Space Station too clean?
Testing surfaces on board the space station revealed low microbial diversity, something that’s been linked to health problems elsewhere.
- Plants
Let’s learn about plant movement
Some plants use their powers of superspeed to spread spores, while others use it to snatch up prey.
- Animals
Some iguanas may have rafted across the Pacific 30 million years ago
The iguanas' epic 8,000-kilometer trip — one-fifth of Earth’s circumference — may be the longest made by a flightless land vertebrate.
- Fossils
Could Spinosaurus swim? That would make it a game changer
Spinosaurus fossils are challenging the longstanding claim that ancient dinosaurs were never fully aquatic. And some paleontologists still aren’t convinced.
- Animals
Some fish have legs that can taste prey underfoot
Taste buds on those legs may explain why northern sea robins are so good at finding food that is buried in the sandy seafloor.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Exoskeleton
This plate armor provides protection to insects, spiders and more. But that benefit comes with tradeoffs.
- Physics
Much of the sun’s light is green. Why does it look yellow?
Sunlight's peak intensity is at a green wavelength. Here’s why it doesn’t appear that way to us.
- Animals
Can this ‘woolly mouse’ help bring back extinct mammoths?
Scientists created mice with woolly mammoth–like traits. But that doesn’t mean we’re close to bringing back woolly mammoths.
- Animals
Dire wolves or not, these pups could help counter extinction
Some question if these are just gene-tweaked gray wolves. Still, the tech behind the new "dire wolves" might help some living at-risk species avoid extinction.
- Materials Science
A beautiful blue butterfly wing offers a new way to study cancer
Once a morpho butterfly wing is placed atop a thin slice of tissue, shining polarized light through it can help reveal how likely breast cancer is to spread.
- Brain
Let’s learn about memory
Brain injuries, drug use and other factors can impair our memory. But targeted practice and healthy habits can boost our ability to remember.
