Science

NASA has 42 current astronauts to select from for a possible mission to the moon.

How NASA Is Selecting the Next Astronauts to Walk on the Moon

The space agency has said that it will send the first woman and the first person of color to the lunar surface

An artist’s reconstruction of Ignacius dawsonae surviving in the warm but dark forests of Ellesmere Island

Primate-Like Critters Survived in the Arctic When It Was a Lush, Warm Swamp

Even as darkness gripped the forests for months, two small species made it home

Saliva impacts how different foods taste.

How Saliva Changes the Flavor of Food

The liquid impacts how we perceive taste and can influence what we choose to eat

The new solar panels would filter light more efficiently.

Farmers May Not Have to Choose Between Crops and Solar Panels

With a new photovoltaic panel, researchers harness sunshine to harvest energy and food together, taking advantage of the full light spectrum

About 100 miles northwest of Mexico City in the UNESCO-designated Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, up to a billion of the brilliant-winged insects spend November to March clustered on branches.

A Ring of Fire, Millions of Monarchs and Other Rare Natural Phenomena Worth Traveling For

Be in the right place at the right time to witness these sublime sights

Red junglefowl, ancestors of wild chickens, are known to mix with domestic birds.

The Wonderful World of Birds

Why Chickens Need to Stop Breeding With Their Wild Cousins

The red junglefowl is losing important genetic diversity in its native Asian habitat

A camera mounted on the Orion spacecraft captured the moon just in frame on December 4, 2022. NASA plans to use Orion as part of a mission to return astronauts to the lunar surface.

How Space Radiation Threatens Lunar Exploration

Scientists are studying the possible impacts of the hazard on astronauts who will travel to the moon

Tyrannosaur fossils show the animals squared off and bit each other in the face.

Busted and Broken Fossils Show How Dinosaurs Fought

From locking horns to biting each other in the face, this is how dinos of the same species battled

Researchers are using novel technologies to study polar bears, which live in the rapidly warming Arctic.

Five Revolutionary Technologies Helping Scientists Study Polar Bears

As climate change threatens the charismatic creatures, scientists are embracing innovations to help them understand and protect the bears

Debra Babalola and Shefali Bohra invented Dotplot, a device that can help users monitor their breast health.

A New Tool Could Help Detect Breast Cancer Earlier

Dotplot gives users real-time feedback and builds a personalized map of their chests

A grave with bones that were analyzed

Ancient DNA Charts Native Americans’ Journeys to Asia Thousands of Years Ago

Analysis of ten Eurasian individuals, up to 7,500 years old, gives a new picture of movement across continents

Banff Sunshine has pioneered snow farming, which involves setting up miles of fencing across its highest terrain to capture large amounts of wind-blown, natural snow.

This Canadian Ski Area Doesn't Make Snow—It Farms It

Sunshine Village Ski Resort in Alberta is in the perfect position for piling up powder

A captive-bred male lion at Warthog Safaris in Limpopo, South Africa. The breeding facility is one of an estimated 260 in the country.

Is It Ethical to Hunt Captive Lions?

In South Africa, the big cats are raised to be killed by hunters. Opponents are outraged, but advocates point to conservation benefits

Thwaites Glacier as captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, November 26, 2020.

How We Came to Know and Fear the Doomsday Glacier

We’re only beginning to understand Antarctica's Thwaites, the world's most vulnerable glacier

An image created using lidar data shows the structures at Aguada Fénix, in Mexico.

Mesoamericans Have Been Using a 260-Day Ceremonial Calendar for Millennia

New research has the earliest evidence yet of when the timekeeping guide was used to mark the seasons

Copepods at various life stages teem inside a water droplet. The creatures go through six larval and six juvenile stages between egg and adulthood. They grow a new pair of legs at each stage.

These Gorgeous Photos Capture Life Inside a Drop of Seawater

A passion for the infinitesimal leads a photographer to discover the countless creatures that live unseen in the ocean

The Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit relies on sagebrush for food and shelter, but the shrub has nearly disappeared. It's also slow to regrow: it takes about two decades, or ten pygmy rabbit lifetimes.

Planet Positive

Can Scientists Save the World’s Tiniest Rabbit?

In Washington State, the race is on to save a diminutive bunny as wildfires threaten its already shrinking habitat

After the American Revolution, why did the colonies keep their British nobility namesakes?

Why Did the American Colonies Keep Their British Names After the Revolution?

You've got questions. We've got experts

An impala runs away from a cheetah.

How the Brain Calculates a Quick Escape

Scientists are beginning to unravel the complex circuitry behind the split-second decision to beat a hasty retreat

This cross section of a sequoia in Yosemite National Park in California has markers identifying the dates of tree rings.

The Science Behind the Oldest Trees on Earth

How experts have determined that bristlecone pines, sequoias and baobabs have stood for thousands of years

Page 17 of 434