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Stories from REPRINT AUTHOR PLACEHOLDER

Scientists are getting better at keeping premature baby sharks alive in aquariums—a boon when captive sharks give birth early, or when aquariums receive donations of living shark fetuses taken from mothers that die in fishing nets.

Preemie Sharks Get by With a Little Help From an Artificial Uterus

Scientists manufactured a womb that could potentially help bolster populations of endangered shark species

Rice coral grows over another species of coral.

These Supercorals Are Causing Problems

As rice coral spreads it reduces biodiversity

A fake foot helps researchers at California State University, Long Beach, determine how stingrays react when they come in contact with people.

When Do Stingrays Strike?

A California researcher and his team simulate stepping on round rays to learn more about their behavior

While scientists have seen colossal squid before—like this specimen examined by New Zealander researchers in 2014—their interactions have always been with animals that were either pulled from the depths, washed up on shore or otherwise removed from their natural habitat.

Is This the First Recorded Footage of a Colossal Squid Living Freely?

The only sightings of the animals so far have come from corpses or creatures dragged up from the depths

The bladder and the brain are involved in determining when we need to urinate.

How Do We Know When to Pee?

The basic urge is surprisingly complex and can go awry as we age

Wedge-tailed shearwaters surprised scientists by showing up after rats were eradicated on Tromelin Island—a place, in the Indian Ocean, where the seabirds hadn’t been documented breeding before.

After Rats Were Eradicated From This Small Island, Seabirds Thrived

Tromelin Island became a safe place for birds once the invasive mammals were eliminated

Evidence suggests blue whales were an important food source for Icelanders.

Medieval Icelanders Likely Hunted Blue Whales

New research suggests Viking-age hunters took down the biggest animal on Earth

The 1892 People's Grocery murders are “what opened my eyes to what lynching really was,” Ida B. Wells later wrote.

How the Murder of a Black Grocery Store Owner and His Colleagues Galvanized Ida B. Wells’ Anti-Lynching Crusade

The saga of People’s Grocery stands as a powerful reminder of the centrality of Black radicalism to the food justice movement

The Travelers’ Tour Through the United States featured a map of the then-24 states.

What America’s First Board Game Tells Us About the Aspirations of a Young Nation

Released in 1822, the Travelers’ Tour Through the United States took players on a cross-country adventure

A diving bell spider with a captured bug under the water

These Funky Spiders Are Lurking by the Water

Some make nests inside seashells, while others tote bubbles of air on their backs

In the late 1960s, Bob Paine described the Pisaster sea star as a “keystone species” in Pacific Northwest tide pools. The concept has since taken on a life of its own.

Has the Term ‘Keystone Species’ Lost Its Meaning?

More than 50 years after Bob Paine’s experiment with starfish, hundreds of species have been pronounced “keystones” in their ecosystems

An 1890 portrait of Lizzie Borden

How Lizzie Borden Got Away With Murder

Class, nativism and gender stereotypes all played a role in Borden’s acquittal for the 1892 killings of her father and stepmother

A moose moves through the forest.

How Should Colorado Handle Its Booming Moose Population?

Roughly 3,000 animals now roam the state’s mountain ranges

The cutter Douglas Munro and crew searching for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activity—including high seas drift-net fishing

How A.I. Is Revolutionizing Marine Conservation

Driven by a childhood marked by war and environmental devastation, marine scientist Dyhia Belhabib developed an innovative technology to combat illegal fishing

The Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station. Geothermal power has long been popular in volcanic countries like Iceland, where hot water bubbles from the ground.

Is Geothermal Power Heating Up as an Energy Source?

Long confined to regions with volcanic activity, the method of harnessing energy from the Earth promises to become much more versatile thanks to new technologies

In recent years, many scientists have been able to watch people trying to find their way and measure how well they do.

Why Do Some People Always Get Lost?

Research suggests that experience may matter more than innate ability when it comes to a sense of direction

A beetle collection used for scientific study

Why Do So Many Beetle Species Exist?

Diet played a key role in the evolution of the vast beetle family tree

Oral health problems can signify other problems throughout the body.

Why Isn’t Dental Health Considered Primary Medical Care?

Ailments of the mouth can put the body at risk for a slew of other ills, yet dentistry is often siloed

About halfway between the Greek cities of Corinth and Lechaio, the area around Corinth’s ancient port is tectonically active. That makes the area even more scientifically precious. While many archaeological sites from millennia ago have sunk beneath rising seas, centuries of tectonic uplift have preserved this spot. Parts of the ancient port now sit above sea level, including the inner harbor, where boats likely once berthed in a protected channel.

Ancient Greece’s Biggest Port Is Older Than We Thought

Archaeological discoveries add 500 years to the history of Corinth’s main harbor

An illuminated manuscript illustration of Marie de France, a 12th-century poet

How Medieval Women Expressed Their ‘Forbidden’ Emotions

Upper-class women used letters and embroidery to reflect on their inner lives

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