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Omo hanging with her herd

Rare White Giraffe Survived Her First Year

The 15-month old calf has so far survived possible predation from lions, leopards, hyenas and human poachers

January 27, 2016

Argentina Battles a Plague of Locusts, Surging After Mild Winters

Farmers and officials are racing to get massive swarms under control

January 27, 2016

Cu Rua photographed in 2011 during a health check

Beloved Giant Turtle Dies, Leaving Only Three Alive on Earth

The recent death of Cu Rua pushes the Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle to the brink of extinction

January 26, 2016

The Doomsday Clock represents humanity's proximity to total catastrophe.

The Doomsday Clock’s Hands Will Stay Put for Now

Experts agree—when it comes to nuclear weapons and climate change, it’s still three minutes until midnight

January 26, 2016

Those distinctive stripes might not be camouflage after all.

Zebra Stripes Might Not Be Camouflage

The animals’ distinctive appearance is still a beautiful mystery

January 25, 2016

A new flavor wheel groups together different flavor attributes of coffee.

Describe Your Coffee With Science

There’s an art—and a lot of science—to a consistent cup of coffee

January 25, 2016

A centenarian and her descendants

There Are Now More Americans Over Age 100 and They’re Living Longer Than Ever

Scientists are still trying to understand the longevity secrets of those most advanced in age

January 22, 2016

Are We Living in the Plastic Age?

Scientists argue that this material may best define our current period within the Anthropocene

January 22, 2016

Scientists Rediscover a Tree Frog Thought to Be Extinct for Over a Century

Last seen in 1870, Jerdon’s tree frog is alive and (mostly) well in India

January 21, 2016

Icebergs melting in Disko Bay, Greenland

It’s Official: 2015 Was the Hottest Year in Over a Century

A strong El Niño helped global temperatures reach new highs

January 21, 2016

The Znamya 2 mirror-solar sail, deployed.

How a Russian Space Mirror Briefly Lit Up the Night

In 1993, the 65-foot-diameter satellite, called Znamya, briefly lit the Earth like a giant orbiting night light

January 21, 2016

An artist's rendering of Planet Nine, looking back toward the Sun. This depiction is of a gaseous planet, like Uranus and Neptune, with lightning brightening the clouds on the dark side.

Evidence Stacks Up for a Planet Beyond Pluto

A new paper provides the strongest evidence yet for a real Planet X

January 20, 2016

Missouri Mathematicians Discover New Prime Number

At more than 22 million digits, it’s the longest prime yet

January 20, 2016

Fish caught for drying in a village in Bangladesh

Overfishing Has Been Even Worse Than We Thought

Official counts previously overlooked fish as bycatch, small-scale fishing and illegal fishing

January 20, 2016

The five planets will be visible to the naked eye, but a telescope can add another layer of delight

Don’t Miss This Month’s Rare Planetary Alignment

Five planets will appear together in the sky—all visible to the naked eye

January 20, 2016

NASA Captures Mesmerizing Video of Cascading Magnetic Arches on the Sun

Swirling magnetic waves triggered spectacular explosions on the sun’s surface

January 19, 2016

Testing for allergies

Signs of Food Allergies Might Be in Newborns’ Blood

Overactive immune cells could prime the immune system to attack normally harmless molecules found in food

January 19, 2016

This flower isn't just a pretty face—its the first one ever grown in space.

Check Out the First Flower Grown in Space

It was a close call for this brilliant orange zinnia

January 18, 2016

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches on Sunday, January 17. Though the launch went as planned, the craft's landing did not.

Sunday’s SpaceX Landing Didn’t Exactly Go as Planned

Jason-3 made it to orbit—but the company’s Falcon 9 rocket didn’t make it back to Earth in one piece

January 18, 2016

Half of NASA's astronaut class of 2013 are women.

Half of NASA’s Newest Astronaut Class Are Women

38 years after NASA hired its first female astronauts, four women are training to go to Mars

January 18, 2016

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