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It looks tiny now, but no matter what you've been told, it'll get bigger. A lot bigger.

Bad News, Pet Lovers: Teacup Pigs Are a Hoax

It’s a descriptor, not the term for a breed of pig, and it’s hurting animals

March 1, 2017

Wilmer Souder poses with a microscope—one of the newfangled tools with which he helped pioneer the field of forensic science.

Cool Finds

Why Nobody Remembers the Forefather of Forensic Science

Wilmer Souder was a hidden pioneer of a still developing field

February 28, 2017

One surprising group is getting colon cancer at rates not seen since the 1890s.

New Research

New Study Shows Sharp Rise in Colorectal Cancers Among Young Adults

Its authors are not sure why the cancers have risen so much—only that they’re increasing every year

February 28, 2017

New Research

Study Shows 84% of Wildfires Caused by Humans

Over the last 21 years, debris burning, arson and campfires have combined with climate change to make the fire season much longer

February 28, 2017

The fall armyworm is native to the Americas, but has quickly invaded southern Africa and is wreaking havoc on crops there.

A Very, Very Hungry Caterpillar Is Wreaking Havoc on Africa’s Crops

February 28, 2017

North American gray squirrels are decimating native red squirrels in the British Isles, leading to a new plan to reduce the population of invasive mammals

February 27, 2017

Bleached coral discovered earlier this month at Maureen's Cove in the Great Barrier Reef

After the worst die-off in the reef’s history in 2016, scientists are worried that high sea temperatures will affect the area again

February 27, 2017

Wild pigs lack natural predators in much of the United States.

Texas Approves Pesticide Targeting Wild Pigs

But hunters and conservationists are concerned that other animals will be exposed to the toxin

February 24, 2017

Strong atmospheric river events are driving record precipitation across the state of California.

Rivers in the Atmosphere Converge to Give California a Huge Downpour

All aboard the Pineapple Express

February 24, 2017

Playing the flute isn't easy even for some humans, but in the 18th century, inventor Jacques de Vaucanson figured out how to make a machine play it.

This Eighteenth-Century Robot Actually Used Breathing to Play the Flute

It was one of a trio of automata that had functions like living creatures

February 24, 2017

This animal hair toothbrush (horse hair, to be exact) is said to have belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte.

You Can Still Buy Pig-Hair Toothbrushes

There’s an argument for it, given all the environmental destruction causes by plastic ones

February 24, 2017

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault keeps backups of the world's seeds safe in case of catastrophe.

Seeds from 49,000 types of crops will be backed up in Svalbard once more

February 24, 2017

Bee pollination drives billions of dollars a year in global agricultural production, but the busy insects are under threat.

New Research

New Map Highlights Bee Population Declines Across the U.S.

As wild bee populations continue to fall, new research identifies counties that will be hit the hardest

February 23, 2017

Tracking individual lemurs—such as the endangered red-bellied lemur pictured here—is no easy task. But researchers hope that facial recognition software can help in the fight for the survival of the bushy-tailed primates.

New Research

How Do You Pick a Lemur Out of a Lineup? This Software Makes the Leap

Facial recognition software can identify individuals, helping researchers conserve the endangered primate

February 22, 2017

To the delight of millions of online viewers, the nesting eagles at the U.S. National Arboretum welcomed a new egg to their nest

February 21, 2017

Cradle to Cradle laid out a strategy for reducing waste through smarter product design. Case in point: the book itself is plastic and waterproof; the pages can be recycled and the ink can be washed off for reuse.

The Inventors of Upcycling Published Their Manifesto In a Plastic Book. Why?

You might have heard the term in relation to crafting, but it means a lot more

February 21, 2017

This photo shows the Berkeley 60-inch cyclotron, build in 1939. The year before, technetium-99 was discovered by Emilio Segrè and Glenn Seaborg using the facility's 37-inch cyclotron. Ernest Lawrence, the cyclotron's inventor, is standing, third from left.

Old Particle Accelerator Tech Might Be Just What the Doctor Ordered

Shortages of important supplies for nuclear medicine has researchers looking for answers on how to produce technetium-99

February 20, 2017

Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park

Michigan is divided over a mining company’s plans to drill for copper in a beloved state park

February 17, 2017

Check Out Yosemite’s “Firefall” Illusion Light Up El Capitan

The firefall is back this year, and it’s just as spectacular as ever

February 17, 2017

Ceres is much more than a rotating rock.

New Research

Organic Material Found on Ceres Hints at Potential for Life

Scientists are fired up about these building blocks of life

February 17, 2017

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