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Cool Finds

Stunning Images Capture Peacock Spiders’ Flashy Colors

Beautiful and acrobatic, these tiny, vibrant creatures shake their tail fuzz in elaborate mating dances

July 26, 2016

Hygiene sticks excavated at Xuanquanzhi station along the Silk Road

New Research

Ancient “Poop Sticks” Offer Clues to the Spread of Disease Along the Silk Road

The parasites found within the 2,000-year-old-feces smeared on bamboo suggest more than commodities made the trip

July 26, 2016

The country unveils an ambitious plan to protect its national bird

July 25, 2016

Data from the Viking biology experiments, which is stored on microfilm, has to be accessed using a microfilm reader.

Cool Finds

NASA Is Finally Digitizing the Viking Mission’s 40-Year-Old Data

No more microfilm

July 25, 2016

New Research

Researcher Discovers First Written Evidence of Laws of Friction in Leonardo Da Vinci’s Notebooks

A scientific breakthrough was dismissed as a useless doodle—until now

July 22, 2016

No more guessing passwords

July 22, 2016

An artistic rendering shows an early proto turtle Eunotosaurus (foreground) burrowing into the banks of a dried-up pond to escape the harsh arid environment present 260 million years ago in South Africa.

New Research

Why the Turtle Grew a Shell—It’s More Than Safety

Its armor may have developed for more than safety

July 22, 2016

Once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it

July 22, 2016

New Research

New Brain Map Doubles Number of Known Regions

Neurologists have found 97 new areas in the brain and expect to add even more

July 21, 2016

New Research

Study Shows Primates Prefer a Little Booze With Their Nectar

Two prosimian primates, the aye-aye and slow loris, show a preference for sugar-water with a higher alcohol content

July 20, 2016

A 3D view of the console of the Apollo 11 "Columbia" command module.

Cool Finds

Explore the Apollo 11 Command Module in 3D

For the first time, you can peek inside the craft that enabled “one giant leap for mankind”

July 20, 2016

Pure Human features clothing made from leather that is produced from the DNA of designer Alexander McQueen—and that includes freckles, realistically placed tattoos and even sunburns.

The late designer’s DNA is part of a bizarre experiment in fashion ethics

July 20, 2016

Pitcher R.A. Dickey is well-known for his knuckleball.

New Research

Physicists May Have Finally Figured Out Why Knuckleballs Are So Hard to Hit

All with the help of a ball-throwing robot

July 20, 2016

There is an outbreak of norovirus among a group of staffers for the California delegation of the Republican National Convention in Ohio.

It’s a short-lived bug with explosive—and contagious—results

July 19, 2016

More than 800,000 volunteers planted saplings in public spaces in the state of Uttar Pradesh hoping to reduce greenhouse gases and reforest the countryside

July 19, 2016

San Andreas fault near Parkfield, California

Journey to the Center of Earth

Tides Trigger Tiny Earthquakes Along the San Andreas Fault

The spring tides trigger small tremors deep in the fault, revealing the fault’s structure

July 19, 2016

An artist's conception of four of the new planets, orbiting a single dwarf star. These small, rocky worlds are far closer to their star than Mercury is to our sun, but the star is smaller and cooler than our own.

New Research

Kepler Just Found 104 New Planets Outside of Our Solar System

Is anyone home?

July 19, 2016

A Delta Aquarid meteor streaks across the sky.

Cool Finds

Keep Your Eyes to the Sky for the Delta Aquarid Meteors This Month

The late-July meteor shower heralds the popular Perseids

July 18, 2016

Congress just passed a bill requiring GMO labeling, but it’s not as straightforward as you might think

July 15, 2016

New Research

Browse Though the Amazon’s 12,000 Tree Species in This New Master List

Gotta count ‘em all

July 15, 2016

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