Life
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Fossils‘Penis worms’ could have been the original hermits
These soft-bodied critters lived in abandoned shells about 500 million years ago, a new study suggests.
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LifeFrom icebergs to smoke, forecasting where dangers will drift
Smoke drifts. Fish eggs float downstream. Where such drifting things end up may seem a mystery. But research can predict where they’ll end up.
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AnimalsA panda stands out at the zoo but blends in the wild
A panda may stand out among the bamboo at the zoo, but in the wild, its black-and-white coloring camouflages it from predators, a new study finds.
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MicrobesGenes point to how some bacteria can gobble up electricity
A new study shows how some microbes absorb and release electrons — a trait that may point to new fuels or ways to store energy.
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EcosystemsSecret forest fungi partner with plants — and help the climate
Forest fungi are far more than mere mushrooms. They explore. They move nutrients and messages between plants. They can even help fight climate change.
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AnimalsMeat-eating bees have something in common with vultures
Flesh-eating bees have acid-producing gut bacteria, much as vultures do. It lets them safely snack on rotting meat.
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SpaceLet’s learn about the hunt for alien life
Finding any extraterrestrials, from advanced alien civilizations to simple microbes, would be an unmatched discovery.
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EarthAnalyze 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.
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ArchaeologyVikings 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.
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LifeScientists Say: Experiment
An experiment is a set of procedures to learn about the world — and an important part of the scientific process.
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FossilsFossils 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.
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EarthExplainer: 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.