New Research

Plastic trash collected from the world's oceans.

The Ocean Contains Over Five Trillion Pieces of Plastic Weighing More than 250,000 Tons

These frightening figures represent the most robust estimate of marine plastic pollution calculated to date

By Absorbing Smells From Its Food, This Fish Gets Scent Camouflage

The harlequin filefish is a master of camoufalge

You've Never Seen Nerve Endings Like These

Scientists produce the most detailed images of nerve endings ever made

Typhoons Saved 13th Century Japan From Invasion

Geologic evidence supports historic accounts of the great "Kamikaze" of 1274 and 1281

Online Students Give Better Reviews to Professors They Think Are Male

Even if the teachers were actually women, if the students thought they were men, the bias stuck

The Mars Rover Curiosity’s landing site in Gale Crater

Curiosity Rover’s Mars Crater May Have Cradled Large Lakes

Signs of water on Mars aren’t new, but now scientists think water may have been there for a long time

You're not fooling anyone, vegan sausage.

Most Vegetarians Lapse After Only a Year

The vast majority of vegetarians return to eating meat

California's Ongoing Drought Is Its Worst in 1,200 Years

Tree ring records unveil the severity of California's drought

Like Underwater Jedi, Electric Eels Can Remotely Control Other Fish

Electric eels can shock prey into both revealing their positions and freezing in place

A bleached coral reef

Listen to the Sounds of a Dying Coral Reef

Healthy coral reefs produce a medley of sounds that ocean creatures use as homing beacons

A humpback whale in waters off southern Oman.

Humpback Whales in the Arabian Sea Have Been Isolated for 70,000 Years

Conservationists want this particular population of humpbacks to be classified as critically endangered

Bats Have Specific Brains Cells for Tracking Their Location While in Flight

Humans likely carry the same kind of cells in our own brains

As above, so below.

The Hidden Underbelly of West Antarctica Is Melting

Warm currents are flowing under ice shelves, causing coastal losses that may let land-based glaciers slide into the sea

A Worm’s Gut Could Help Dispose of Plastic Trash

Microbes found in the guts of waxworms like to feast on polyethylene

A natural gas storage tank at the Cenex oil refinery in Montana.

The Fracking Boom Could Burn Out Decades Before It's Supposed To

Overenthusiastic shale gas estimates may be setting the world up for a fracking crash

Half the Cells in This Mouse’s Brain Are Human

Researchers implanted immature human brain cells in mouse pups, which then grew and replaced nearly half the mice's own cells

Public Bathroom Bacteria: Not as Gross as You'd Think

Public restrooms are of no more of a health risk than your own home

Thanks to millions of microscopic hair-like structures, a gecko's foot can resist pulling forces up to 20 times the lizard's own weight.

Geckos Have a Surprisingly Strong Death Grip

Gecko toes remain firmly stuck in place even after the animal dies, implying that the lizards do not actively control their clinginess

An engraving of "Mr. Garrick" as Richard III in a production of Shakespeare’s play

Richard III’s DNA Analysis Reveals Cuckoldry in the Family

Researchers can trace the monarch’s maternal lineage to modern relatives, but not the male side

An artist's interpretation of HIV in the bloodstream

HIV's Ability to Cause AIDS Is Weakening

A combination of advanced treatments and viral evolution are slowing virus’ reproduction

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