Elusive Indus River dolphins.

New Research

Why Freshwater Dolphins Are Some of the World’s Most Endangered Mammals

In Pakistan, dams and drainage has reduced the endangered Indus River dolphin’s range by 80 percent

Scientists are looking to restore memory by stimulating neurons deep in the brain.

Tech Watch

Could Implants in the Brain Revive Memory?

The Defense Department is funding research to see if “neuroprosthetics” implanted in the brain can heal damaged memory.

Legos can not only build great castles and towers for play — they could also offer the most affordable way to study plant root growth yet.

How Legos Could Change What We Know About Plants

Researchers are using toy bricks to study how plants react to environmental factors.

The famous "Big Hole" in Kimberley, South Africa

Peering Into Some of the World’s Largest Mines

This interactive map will show you the sources of the planet’s precious metals

Adult Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) with gathered insect prey. This is one of the fifteen species shown to be affected by elevated imidacloprid concentrations in surface water in the Netherlands.

New Research

Popular Pesticides Linked to Drops in Bird Populations

This is the latest in a string of studies suggesting that some pesticides impact birds as well as pollinators

In cities, where the urban heat island effect can raise the local temperature several degrees higher than nearby rural areas, summer is a time to cool off wherever you can.

New Research

Why the City Is (Usually) Hotter than the Countryside

The smoothness of the landscape and the local climate—not the materials of the concrete jungle—govern the urban heat island effect, a new study finds

Finger coral's fatness and indiscretion when it comes to algal partners gives it an edge in warming waters.

New Research

Fat Corals Fare Best As Climate Changes

Corals with significant energy reserves that welcome all types of symbiotic algae species won’t easily die if hit with multiple bleaching events

At the time of his death on May 9, 2014, Alexander Imich was the world's oldest man.

Keeping Track of the Oldest People in the World

The Gerontology Research Group catalogues on all of the world’s confirmed supercentenarians, or persons over 110 years old

Is this the face of a cold-blooded man-eater?

14 Fun Facts About Piranhas

They’re not cute and cuddly, but they may be misunderstood, and scientists are rewriting the fish’s fearsome stereotype

Skulls of the genus Homo, including two from Homo erectus on the right

New Research

Ability to Adapt Gave Early Humans the Edge Over Other Hominins

Features thought to be characteristic of early Homo lineages actually evolved before Homo arose. Rather, our flexible nature defines us

14 Fun Facts About Fireworks

Number three: Fireworks are just chemical reactions

Among the many downsides of natural gas extraction are the small earthquakes caused by injecting wastewater back into the earth. Above, an oil rig drills for natural gas through shale.

New Research

Time to Start Paying Attention to Fracking’s Earthquakes

With wastewater injection sparking swarms of small quakes, some states are taking notice of the danger

A group of Chilean devil rays basking in shallow waters around an underwater mountain near the Azores.

New Research

Chilean Devil Rays Found to Be Among the Deepest-Diving Animals in the Ocean

The surface-dwelling marine creatures regularly dive more than one mile deep, scientists find

Do Animals Have Rhythm?

If they did, who could ask for anything more?

How Scientists Are Using Games to Unlock the Body’s Mysteries

They’re not just for kids anymore

Rise of the Sea Urchin

In the icy waters off Norway, one intrepid Scot dives deep to satisfy the latest fjord-to-table craze at Europe’s finest restaurants

Imperiled survivors: A herd migrates across Chad, once home to tens of thousands of elephants. After a surge in poaching, only about 1,000 remain.

The Race to Stop Africa’s Elephant Poachers

The recent capture of a notorious poacher has given hope to officials in Chad battling to save the African elephant from extinction

An emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) teaching its baby how to preen.

New Research

Emperor Penguin Colonies Will Suffer As Climate Changes

Scientists project that two thirds of emperor penguin colonies will drop by 50 percent in the next century

If a beach has signs that warn about contaminated water, it's probably not the best idea to swim.

America’s Cleanest—And Most Polluted—Beaches

Before you plan a trip to the sand this summer, check out this list of the best and worst beaches, based on water quality

University of Sao Paulo researcher Marcio Martins holds one snake while watching another, a deadly venomous snake living only on Queimada Grande Island, Atlantic Forest, Brazil.

This Terrifying Brazilian Island Has the Highest Concentration of Venomous Snakes Anywhere in the World

Brazil’s Ilha de Queimada Grande is the only home of one of the world’s deadliest, and most endangered, snakes

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