New Research

Blind People Can Echolocate

Echolocation acts as such a close a proxy for vision that it falls victim to the same shortcomings

Mercury Was Once Bigger, Then It Shrank

As the planet cooled, it contracted and shut off the surface lava flows about 3.8 billion years ago

Get a good look at Sinea incognita, a newly recognized species of assassin bug.

Meet the Stealthiest Assassin Bug in the United States

The unique and secretive species has been living among us unrecognized for a century

Canada’s Outdoor Ice Skating Rinks’ Days Are Numbered Thanks to Climate Change

Skating rinks are already open for fewer days in the year than they were just a decade ago

A surfer rides large waves at Baker Beach in San Francisco during one of the largest storms to hit Northern California in the last five years.

Get Set For Frequent Flooding In Coastal U.S. Cities

Sea level rise is increasing the odds of nuisance flooding

The aftermath of a bomb blast in Tel Aviv, 1996.

Living Under the Threat of Terrorism Might Shorten Lives

Constant fear of terrorist attacks is linked to elevated heart rates, which is a predictor of increased risk of death

Don’t Give Your Kids Gifts to Show Affection

Setting up a connection between things and reward early in life primes people to be materialistic

A Bedbug Trap That Might Actually Work

Researchers are learning to use bed bugs pheromones against them

Why a Tanzanian Village Chased Six Elephants Off a Cliff

Not all animal killings are linked to the illegal wildlife trade

One Conversation Can Change Same-Sex Marriage Opponents’ Minds

Voters change their stance after a face-to-face conversation with a gay or lesbian person hoping to get married

Introverts Give Their Extroverted Colleagues Bad Performance Reviews

Studies of students show that extroverts don’t get rewarded for being outgoing when introverts are judging

Teachers Can Control Who the Cool Kids Are

Children nestled in the center of the classroom are deemed the coolest

The Oldest Olive Oil Ever Found Is 8,000 Years Old

Chemical analyses unveil traces of olive oil in ancient Israeli pottery

Eurasian lynx playing in the snow in Germany.

Europe Is a Great Place to Be a Large Meat-Eater

In a rare success story for wildlife, bears, lynx, wolverine and wolves are increasing in numbers across the continent

Congratulations, Humanity! We're Living Six Years Longer Than We Did in 1990, on Average

Global life expectancy is increasing, especially in the developing world

You Eat Millions...Even Billions!...of Microbes Every Day

Yes, plenty of live microorganisms lurk in your yogurt, but they are everywhere else as well

Even A/C Can't Keep Our Economies From Slacking Off on Hot Days

As global warming turns up the temperature on the planet, it's going to be tougher to get anything done

Fat cells.

Now We Know Where Fat Goes When We Lose Weight

We breathe it out

The Cutest Climate Change Culprits: Arctic Ground Squirrels

By digging burrows in permafrost, Arctic ground squirrels help destabilize the vast stores of carbon in the soil

When Sperm Meets Egg, Zinc Sparks Fly

Billions of tiny zinc particles explode from the surface of mammalian eggs when a sperm cell touches down

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