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Innovations

Most garages can double as EV charging stations.

For Electric Vehicles to Take Off, Apartments Need to Come with Charging Stations

As EVs make more inroads, giving tenants somewhere to plug in their cars could become a selling point

Forest near Sarayaku, Ecuador

This Simulation Maps the Rise and Fall of Species Over 800,000 Years

Biogeographers have built a virtual world to trace the emergence and extinction of species during the last eight glacial cycles

The Unexpected Afterlife of Ill-Gotten Wildlife Goods

Contraband pelts and scales can serve as educational tools, add to research collections and even offer clues back to smugglers

Humans and other animals share large amounts of genetic material, making geneticists rethink the traditional notion of inheritance.

New Research

Genes That Jump Between Species Could Rewrite Our Understanding of Evolution

Horizontal movement of genetic material is widespread across animals, challenging traditional notions of inheritance

‘Earthrise,’ which appeared on the cover of the second and third Whole Earth Catalog, was taken by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders during lunar orbit, Dec. 24, 1968.

50 Years Ago, the Whole Earth Catalog Launched and Reinvented the Environmental Movement

The publication gave rise to a new community of environmental thinkers, where hippies and technophiles found common ground

A male bee releasing its seminal fluid at the USDA bee lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The male does not survive the process.

Is the Key to Saving Pollinators … Honey Bee Semen?

In the hopes of preserving their genetic diversity, entomologists are collecting and freezing this valuable fluid

Berry started his career colorizing actual telescope data. His more recent work includes this artistic impression of a black hole at the heart of galaxy NGC 1068. The material trapped around the black hole is moving so fast that the light itself is either compressed to blue where the material is coming toward the viewer, or stretched to red, where it is rushing away from the viewer.

Art Meets Science

The Supernova That Launched a Thousand Gorgeous Space Images

By colorizing one of the first Hubble satellite images, illustrator Dana Berry ushered in a new era of stunning space visuals

A human wrist (and wristwatch) imaged with the new 3D, color x-ray machine developed by MARS Bioimaging.

Cool Finds

Check Out These Awesome New 3D, Full-Color X-Rays

The scanner uses technology developed for the Large Hadron Collider

New Research

Scientists Explain The Thrill of Detecting a Neutrino From a Far-Off Galaxy

For the first time, the IceCube observatory has triumphantly tracked a neutrino back to a massive blazar

Optimizing cows

This Connecticut Farm Is Milking Cows for Data

Robotic milkers, video cameras and even sensors hidden inside cows will help the facility get the most milk from a healthy herd

A kissing bug with an attached radio transmitter at a private home in Texas.

New Research

How Tiny Trackers Could Help Humans Avoid Kissing Bugs’ Deadly Smooch

The insects, which spread Chagas disease, can now be tracked with miniature radios to stop the spread of illness

The antibiotic-resistant superbug MRSA

New Research

New “Immunobiotic” Could Treat Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs

The drug, which combines antibiotics and the body’s immune system, shows promise in early stages of testing

The Intricate Skill That Goes Into Landing a Fighter Jet

Landing on an aircraft carrier’s 300-feet runway seems like an impossible task

This Aircraft Carrier Cannon Fires 4,500 Rounds a Minute

The Sea Wiz is the affectionate nickname given to a 20mm Vulcan Cannon on board the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier. It fires 4,500 rounds a minute

At Surf Ranch in May (where Kelly Slater leaned into a cutback), 5,000 spectators gathered to watch 25 world-class surfers compete for prize money.

Engineering the Perfect Wave

A technology breakthrough allows surf legend Kelly Slater to manufacture the same wave over and over again

The charred papyrus scroll recovered from Herculaneum is preserved in 12 trays mounted under glass. Here is PHerc.118 in tray 8. The scroll was physically unrolled in 1883-84, causing irreparable damage.

Buried by the Ash of Vesuvius, These Scrolls Are Being Read for the First Time in Millennia

A revolutionary American scientist is using subatomic physics to decipher 2,000-year-old texts from the early days of Western civilization

A Canines for Conservation handler and his dog inspect a vehicle as a part of a 12-week training course.

It’s Pooches vs. Poachers in the Fight Against Wildlife Smugglers

A new breed of law enforcement is on the scene—and its bite is stronger than its bark

Defense is the only option against a never-ending onslaught.

The Original ‘Space Invaders’ Is a Meditation on 1970s America’s Deepest Fears

One of the first digital shooting games reflected a fear of, well, invaders—a fear that still resonates today

A wildlife biologist checks a big brown bat for signs of white nose syndrome, which can cause tears or even dime-sized holes in their delicate wings.

Three Ways Bats Could Bounce Back From Devastating White Nose Syndrome

Scientists are testing light therapy, a fungus-killing fungus—and maybe, doing nothing

Say hello to SMAP

This NASA Satellite Can Map the Planet’s Soil Moisture Content In Just Three Days

The speedy collection of this data will help with crop management and flood prediction

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