Nature
Nature, or the natural world, encompasses the behavior and physiology of animals, plants and minerals
Are Modern Football Helmets Any Safer than Old-School Leather Ones?
Recent testing shows that, contrary to prior findings, new plastic helmets reduce the risk of concussions by 45 to 96 percent
May 07, 2013 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Heavy Metals, Insects and Other Weird Things Found in Lipstick Through Time
From seaweed and beetles to lead and synthetic chemicals, lipstick has seen its share of strange—and dangerous—components
May 03, 2013 |
By Marina Koren
The Cicadas are Coming, And So Are the Terrifying Spores That Eat Them Alive
The cicadas have been waiting for 17 years. This deadly fungus has been waiting for them
May 03, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
Why Asparagus Makes Your Urine Smell
Our bodies convert asparagusic acid into sulfur-containing chemicals that stink—but some of us are spared from the pungent odor
May 03, 2013 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Game Wardens Helped Poachers Kill the Last of Mozambique’s Rhinos
Mozambique's rhinos have been living on the edge of extinction for more than a century, but now they're finally gone for good
May 02, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
The Only Clouded Leopard Left in Taiwan Is Stuffed on a Museum Shelf
Zoologists call the results of a 13-year-long hunt to find any remaining clouded leopards "disappointing"
May 01, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Exploring the World’s Most Imperiled Rivers
Agriculture, pollution and hydroelectric development threaten many great rivers. See them while they still flow, via raft, kayak, canoe—or bicycle
May 01, 2013 |
By Alastair Bland
High Fructose Corn Syrup May Be Partly Responsible for Bees’ Collapsing Colonies
High fructose corn syrup, the sugary compound in soda, is also fed to bees
May 01, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
How Bone-Eating Zombie Worms Drill Through Whale Skeletons
The worms use a "bone-melting acid" that frees up the nutrients within both whale and fish bones
May 01, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
It’s Crazy to Move a Hundred-Year-Old Tree, But This One Is Thriving
There's controversy surrounding the oak's new home, but park or no park, the Ghirardi Oak is staying, and the transport seems to have been a success
May 01, 2013 |
By Rose Eveleth
Our Battle Against Extinction, 100 Recipes and More Recent Books Reviewed
Growing up as a poor Astor and the roots of psychiatry
May 2013 |
By Chloë Schama
Baby Sand Tiger Sharks Devour Their Siblings While Still in the Womb
This seemingly horrific reproduction strategy may be a way for females to better control which males sire her offspring
April 30, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Mary Thom, Feminist, Historian and Editor, Dies in Motorcycle Crash at 68
Mary Thom, feminist editor, writer and behind-the-scenes activist, died earlier this week in a motorcycle accident in Yonkers
April 30, 2013 |
By Rose Eveleth
We’re Just 35 Devil’s Hole Pupfish Away From the World’s Best-Documented Extinction
If the species does go extinct, it will join Florida's Dusky seaside sparrow as an endangered species that has died out while under federal protection
April 30, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
In 2010, Malaria Killed 660,000 People, And Now It’s Resistant to the Drugs We Use to Fight It
Scientists have discovered a drug-resistant strain of malaria, and it's spreading
April 29, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
One Confused Loon Spent 48 Days Trying to Hatch Rocks
In July 2011, something strange was going on with one of the loons at a Massachusetts sanctuary
April 29, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Why Guppies Seem to Have a Death Wish
Aquarium-leaping guppies don't necessarily want to die, they're just trying to colonize the next pond over
April 26, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Saving the Cao Vit Gibbon, the Second Rarest Ape in the World
Setting aside additional protected areas and creating forest corridors could help this Asian primate bounce back from just 110 individuals
April 26, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
