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Science

Isaque Carvalho Borges won $12,500 in the Central and South American category of the 2025 Earth Prize, the world’s largest environmental sustainability competition for students between 13 and 19 years of age.

This 16-Year-Old Invented an A.I. Tool to Help Cool Down the World’s Hottest Cities

Isaque Carvalho Borges experiences the urban heat island effect in his home of Palmas, Brazil, and he wants to do something about it

The Pleiades, also known as the “Seven Sisters,” is an open star cluster in the constellation Taurus. Because of its visibility to the naked eye, it has appeared in literature and cultures across time.

A Brief and Amazing History of the Pleiades, Stars That Captivated Ancient Civilizations and Inspired Poets

Also known as the “Seven Sisters,” the striking cluster has long been used as an important seasonal marker and appears high in the night sky around Halloween

Sea otters use their agile, grippy forepaws to capture and pull apart prey. Raising their paws and back flippers out of the water also helps them stay warm.

Sea Otters May Be Small Marine Mammals, But Their Effect on an Ecosystem Can Be Huge

Their fur is so soft it almost led to their extinction, but otters’ recovery has been a boon to Pacific kelp forests, a key habitat for other sealife

What made the U.S. Post Office Department decide to start its airmail service so early, before air travel was even common?

Why Did the U.S. Post Office Start Airmail So Early? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

An aerial view of Altadena on March 11, 2025, shows surviving trees and new greenery amid homes destroyed in the Eaton Fire.

After the L.A. Fires, Locals Turn to Native Plants to Help Shield Homes From Flames and Clean Contaminated Soil

Scientists and community members in Altadena are testing ways that California species can assist efforts to rebuild

Postpartum depression affects some one in eight women in the United States. It typically occurs in the first weeks after childbirth, after a sudden drop in levels of estrogen and progesterone.

A Blood Test Can Now Predict a Mother’s Risk of Postpartum Depression

Scientists are learning more about this leading complication of childbirth, and treatments are improving

Camels evolved into a range of shapes and sizes, including small forms like these Stenomylus on display at the American Museum of Natural History.

Meet the Extinct Camels of North America, From Ice Age Giants to Sheep-Size Runners

Largely outshone by fossils of horses, the earliest camels are getting another look from scientists determined to sort out the relationships and adaptations of these “absolutely bonkers” herbivores

A dusky shark swims in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Hadera, Israel, where dusky sharks and sandbar sharks tend to gather.

Why Do Sharks Go Into Feeding Frenzies? A Case Study of a Recent, Unusual Attack on a Human Looks for Answers

After multiple dusky sharks killed a swimmer off Israel’s coast this year, scientists investigated what might have triggered the attack in hopes of preventing similar incidents

These six keel-billed toucans were discovered bound and sedated in June by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. The Wildlife Confiscations Network helped find experts at qualified facilities to care for the birds.

Once Smuggled Animals Are Rescued, Law Enforcement Officers Call Her

As coordinator of the Wildlife Confiscations Network, Mandy Fischer helps match trafficked animals—from alligators to jaguars to baby monkeys—with sanctuaries and care facilities

The earwig’s delicate, paper-thin wings open to more than ten times their folded size, thanks to its origami-like creases.

Studying Clever Creases in Nature May Inspire Foldable Structures for Drones and Robots

Engineers are turning to animal origami, from insects that tuck away wings to a protist with an accordion-like neck, for design help

The epigenetic clock is emerging as a wildlife conservation tool.

This ‘Clock’ Could Warn of Hidden Stresses to Animals, Offering a Long-Sought Signal That a Population Is Nearing Collapse

The epigenetic clock measures biological age and could help scientists assess the health of polar bears, dolphins, baboons and other threatened creatures “while recovery is still possible”

People with a rare form of epilepsy have reported feelings of bliss just before having a seizure. A French Swiss neurologist has pinned down where this “aura” originates in the brain in hopes that one day, that feeling might be reproduced non-invasively in others.

Some People Experience Blissful Ecstasy Right Before a Seizure. Could Understanding This Feeling Help Treat Depression?

A neurologist shares her thoughts and research about “ecstatic epilepsy” in a wide-ranging conversation on how we perceive the world—and create the world we perceive

Jane Goodall visiting a chimpanzee rescue center in 2018 in Entebbe, Uganda

Jane Goodall, Legendary Primatologist and Anthropologist, Dies at 91

She was considered the world’s leading expert on chimpanzees and was renowned for her global conservation efforts

An 1844 illustration of mink

The Life, Loss and Lore of the Sea Mink

It might be among the first mammals to go extinct in North America after colonization. But can scientists prove it was even a distinct species?

Scientists scavenge the docks of Manhattan’s Hudson River Park in pursuit of boluses—masses of undigestible materials expelled by gulls.

Gulls’ Spit-Up Gunk Can Help Ecologists Understand Human Pollution

Researchers and student volunteers pick up what seabirds throw up, then examine it for clues about our impact on the environment

Amazon data centers sit next to houses in Loudoun County.

A.I. Is on the Rise, and So Is the Environmental Impact of the Data Centers That Drive It

The demand for data centers is growing faster than our ability to mitigate their skyrocketing economic and environmental costs

A sea lamprey shows off its nightmarish mouth.

This Invasive Vampire Fish Is Helping Researchers Understand the Human Nervous System in Jaw-Dropping Ways

The sea lamprey looks like it’s from another planet, but this ancient creature has a surprising amount in common with humans

The orca known as “Old Thom” swims in front of researchers in the Bay of Fundy.

The Curious Case of ‘Old Thom,’ an Orca Traveling Alone in the North Atlantic

Sightings of the marine mammal captivate the public and baffle scientists

A historian inspects oysters from a reef on the Nansemond River, in Virginia.

Can Scientists Help Oysters Thrive Again?

Dredging and pollution devastated the once-bountiful reefs. Careful science may help bring them back

Inmate Willie H. feeds juvenile robins that are being rehabilitated in prison.

In Prisons Across Ohio, These Inmates Are Finding Meaning by Saving Orphaned and Injured Animals

The Ohio Wildlife Center’s hospital sends critters to five facilities for care before eventual release

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