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Science

Tropical regions are home to many unique species, such as this tiny frog belonging to the genus Dendrophryniscus that lives in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. A new study finds that removing just a few trees can quickly cause biodiversity in these tropical forests to fall.

New Research

Removing Just a Few Trees Can Lower Tropical Animal Biodiversity

Selective logging can halve the number of species of mammals and amphibians in a forest

An African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) calls out near Table Mountain National Park, Cape Town, South Africa.

New Research

Scientists Decode African Penguin Calls

Researchers are trying to figure out how “jackass” penguins—nicknamed for their braying vocalizations—communicate

The ecology of the meat-eaters like Allosaurus fragilis were likely threatened by the decline of the plant-eating dinosaurs, making the "perfect storm" for a mass extinction

Why the Dinosaurs Could Have Had a Chance of Surviving the Asteroid Strike

A new study suggests it wasn’t just the asteroid that killed the dinos, but that other factors weakened their ability to survive it

The Verrückt, which opened this summer at the Kansas City Schlitterbahn Waterpark, is the tallest waterslide in the world.

How Do You Build the World’s Tallest Water Slide?

From conceptualization to the first plunge, building the world’s tallest water slide takes more trial-and-error than you might believe

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Art Meets Science

Old Time Portraits of Parasites

Photographer Marcus DeSieno uses antiquated techniques to take pictures of parasites with a mix of citizen science and monster movie panache

Dirty Martini

Art Meets Science

What Does Your Favorite Drink Look Like Under A Microscope?

Check out these colorful images of crystallized alcoholic beverages

"Watermarks" earned first place in the contest. “The way water in this picture found its way back to the ocean reminded me of a peacock's tail spreading under the sun or a woman's hair blowing in the wind,” Sadri writes.

Art Meets Science

Who Knew Fungi and Fruit Fly Ovaries Could Be So Beautiful?

Princeton University’s annual science art contest shines a light on the research world, adding a video element this year

Mount Fuji is beautiful when viewed from a distance. But it is also an active volcano that, if it erupts, could displace more than a million people in Japan.

What Makes A Volcano Dangerous? People

Millions of people worldwide live in the shadows of dangerous volcanoes

The equivalent caloric amount of chicken, pork or eggs would represent an order of magnitude less greenhouse gas emissions than what was required to produce this beef.

New Research

Raising Beef Uses Ten Times More Resources Than Poultry, Dairy, Eggs or Pork

If you want to help the planet but can’t bring yourself to give up meat entirely, eliminating beef from your diet is the next-best thing

An attendee at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo, in Los Angeles, California, tries out an Oculus VR headset kit.

Can’t Picture a World Devastated by Climate Change? These Games Will Do it for You

Augmented and virtual reality games may help crack the code of getting humans to do something about the environment

Delicate Arch in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah.

New Research

How Does Nature Carve Sandstone Pillars and Arches?

Researchers say the right mix of erosion and stress creates Earth’s natural sandstone arches and columns

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

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