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Stories from Sara Hashemi

Researchers working in the Peruvian Amazon have discovered an unusual partnership between the ocelot (left) and opossum (right).

Video Reveals an Unlikely Bond Between Ocelots and Opossums in the Amazon, Walking Together Like ‘Old Friends’

Researchers captured the footage by surprise, with cameras initially set up to record bird behavior

Scientists sequenced ancient proteins in a tooth from a prehistoric rhino relative that had been preserved in Canada's High Arctic for up to 24 million years.

Scientists Recover Ancient Proteins From Animal Teeth Up to 24 Million Years Old, Opening Doors to Learning About the Past

Two new papers analyze fossils found in Canada and Kenya, respectively—vastly different environments for the preservation of genetic material

Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes the plague

An Arizona Resident Died From the Plague. Here’s What to Know About the Rare Disease

The patient had the pneumonic plague, the rarest and deadliest form of the disease. Human cases remain very uncommon in the United States, though plague is endemic to the western part of the country

A NASA astronaut captured this odd weather phenomenon, called a red sprite, from the International Space Station.

Mysterious ‘Red Sprite’ Appears in NASA Astronaut Photo From the Space Station. What Is This Strange Electrical Flare?

Red sprites are among a class of enigmatic weather phenomena that appear over thunderstorms, known as Transient Luminous Events

Researchers found small Homo erectus fossils among other animal remains. 

A Massive Underwater Fossil Find Includes Remains From Ancient Human Ancestors

More than 6,000 animal fossils were found in Indonesia, and two of them belong to Homo erectus

Lead author Judith Pardo-Pérez where the fossil, nicknamed Fiona, was discovered.

A Rare, Pregnant Ichthyosaur Fossil Discovered in Chile Is Revealing More Secrets About the Early Cretaceous World

The fossil helps scientists better understand not just the animal, but our planet’s geology

The "blob" south of Greenland has cooled over the last century, despite warming surface temperatures across the rest of the planet.

Scientists Shed Light on the Mysterious ‘Cold Blob’ in the North Atlantic Amid a Search for Its Cause

In two recent studies, researchers suggest a weakening ocean current system is to blame for a persistent cold spot in the Atlantic Ocean, though other factors may also be at play

A view of one of Tuvalu's islands captured in June 2023. The nation is highly threatened by climate change.

More Than One-Third of Tuvalu’s Population Has Applied for a ‘Climate Visa’ to Relocate to Australia

The world-first climate visa agreement will grant permanent residency status to 280 Tuvaluans per year as the island nation grapples with sea-level rise

A 99-million-year-old fly encased in amber shows infection with a prehistoric zombifying fungus.

Rare Amber Fossils Capture ‘Zombie’ Fungus Infecting Insects During a Time When Dinosaurs Still Walked the Earth

An ant and fly from the Cretaceous period offer insights into the history of Ophiocordyceps, the fungal parasite made popular by HBO’s “The Last of Us”

Relay 2 was an American communications satellite launched in 1964.

Astronomers Detected a Mysterious Radio Burst. It Turned Out to Be From a Dead NASA Satellite

The signal detected last year came from Relay 2, a communications satellite that has been defunct since 1967

This image of the the Trifid nebula (top) and the Lagoon nebula (bottom) was put together from 678 separate images taken over seven hours of observations.

See the First Breathtaking Images Captured by the Powerful New Telescope at the Rubin Observatory

Featuring never-before-seen views of galaxies and more than 2,100 newly discovered asteroids, the observations are only a taste of what to expect from the telescope’s upcoming decade-long survey

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory against the night sky, which it will soon capture in unprecedented detail

The World’s Largest Camera Is About to Unveil Its First Photos of Space. Here’s How to Follow Along With a Live Stream

The revolutionary Vera C. Rubin Observatory will unveil new insights about our universe—and you can catch a first look at a local event or online on Monday

A male sea spider, preserved for imaging under a microscope, carries egg sacs after mating with two different females.

Scientists Discover First Known Sea Spider Species That ‘Eat’ Methane With the Help of Bacteria

The research offers new insights on interactions between creatures on the mysterious seafloor and sheds light on the methane cycle

Pangolin species across Africa and Asia are under threat from poaching, climate change and habitat loss.

The World’s ‘Most Trafficked Mammal’ Might Soon Be Protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act

The Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing seven species of pangolin, often poached for their scales and meat, as endangered

The first reported use of the semicolon was in the essay "De Aetna," pictured in part here, by Pietro Bembo and published by Aldus Manutius in the 1490s.

Could the Semicolon Die Out? Recent Analysis Finds a Decline in Its Usage in British Literature and Confusion Among U.K. Students

Not only are semicolons evidently becoming more rare, but young people are less aware of how to use them, according to a survey

A long-billed curlew flies over the Great Plains. New research suggests the birds react to danger more quickly when they hear prairie dog alarm calls.

Nesting Birds Eavesdrop on Prairie Dog Alarm Calls to Keep Their Eggs Safe From Grassland Predators

New research suggests long-billed curlews keep an ear out for warnings from prairie dogs in order to hide from predators and protect their nests

Researchers developed a wearable device to monitor participants' breathing.

The Way You Breathe Is Unique to You, Like a Fingerprint, New Study Suggests

Researchers could identify people with almost 97 percent accuracy based on 24 hours of their recorded breathing patterns, and they also found links to a person’s mental and physical condition

Darla Zelenitsky (right) and Jared Voris (left) were part of the team that identified and named Khankhuuluu based on fossils found in Mongolia during the 1970s.

These ‘Dragon Prince’ Fossils Spent Decades in Museum Drawers. Now, They Could Rewrite the T. Rex Family Tree

Two partial skeletons housed in a Mongolia museum were reexamined by researchers and found to represent a previously unknown species

Axolotls are helping scientists understand the key to limb regeneration.

Axolotls May Hold the Key to Regrowing Limbs, and Scientists Are Unraveling Their Secrets to Help Humans Do the Same

With the help of gene-edited axolotls, researchers have gotten one step closer to enabling human limb regeneration

In this artist's impression of Diamantinasaurus matildae, the animal feeds from a conifer tree.

First Fossil Evidence That Sauropods Were Herbivores Supports a Widespread Assumption About the Long-Necked Dinosaurs

A recent discovery of a dinosaur’s preserved gut contents offers the first direct proof that sauropods were plant-eaters

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