Earth & Environment
Why Tiger Shark bites peak in Hawaiʻi each October
For years, surfers and ocean-goers in Hawaiʻi have talked about “Sharktober,” a time when shark encounters seem more common.
Now, scientists say the pattern is...
Scientists discover Tyrannosaurus rex grew for 40 years, far longer than we thought
Tyrannosaurus rex has long been pictured as a fast-growing monster that quickly reached its enormous adult size.
But a new study suggests the famous “king...
Different dirty air linked to different lung cancer death risks
Lung cancer is one of the most serious and deadly diseases in the world. Every year, millions of people are diagnosed, and many lose...
The Arctic is entering a new era of extreme weather, scientists warn
The Arctic is no longer changing slowly.
According to a new international study, the region has entered a new phase marked by frequent and intense...
A lost ice age giant speaks again—from inside a wolf’s stomach
Scientists have recovered the complete genome of a woolly rhinoceros that lived more than 14,000 years ago—and they did it using tissue preserved inside...
The rise of fish began with a mass extinction, fossils reveal
About 445 million years ago, life on Earth nearly collapsed. In a relatively short geological moment, Earth’s climate flipped dramatically.
Massive glaciers spread across the...
Whale hunting in south America began 5,000 years ago—far earlier than we thought
The history of whale hunting is much older—and more global—than researchers once believed.
A new study shows that Indigenous communities living along the southern coast...
How a 400-year-old shark keeps its vision sharp for life
In a quiet office at the University of California, Irvine, Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk watches a grainy video on her computer.
A massive Greenland shark drifts slowly...
This system reveals how super-Earths are born
One of the best things about being able to see thousands of exoplanetary systems is that we’re able to track them in different stages...
Why the Los Angeles fires were so destructive
Twelve months after devastating wildfires tore through parts of Los Angeles, researchers are still uncovering lessons from one of the most destructive urban fire...
Your receipt could soon be made from trees, not toxic chemicals
Every day, most of us touch thermal paper without giving it a second thought.
It shows up as shopping receipts, delivery labels, movie tickets, and...
Walking on two legs began earlier than we thought
Scientists may have just pushed back the timeline for when our ancestors first started walking upright.
A new study suggests that Sahelanthropus tchadensis, a species...
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Scientists find surprising history of world’s largest lizard
The unusual breeding history of the Earth's largest living lizard - the Komodo dragon - has been laid bare in a new study from...
Climate change and your heart: what you need to know
We all know that climate change affects the environment. What's becoming increasingly clear is that it's also a major health issue—specifically for heart health.
Experts...
One wrong hit could send an asteroid on a collision course with Earth
When a massive asteroid is hurtling toward Earth, the solution seems straightforward; smash a spacecraft into it and knock it off course.
That’s exactly what...
New software can spot money laundering faster, study finds
Computer scientists have pioneered a groundbreaking tool that can detect money laundering with unprecedented speed and accuracy, scanning 50 million transactions in under a...
Scientists discover unexpected methane emissions in Alaska’s drylands
When Katey Walter Anthony, a researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, first heard rumors about methane gas bubbling under the lawns of Fairbanks...
Watching Doctor Who may help reduce death risk in holidays, study finds
Have you ever thought that watching your favorite TV show could be good for your health?
A recent study published in The BMJ's Christmas issue...
Where you live could increase your longevity
In a study from Syracuse University, scientists found Americans who live in so-called blue states tend to live longer than those in red states,...
Scientists discover gigantic Jurassic Pterosaur in Oxfordshire, UK
A team of paleontologists has unearthed a fossil of a gigantic flying reptile from the Jurassic period in Oxfordshire, UK.
This pterosaur, estimated to have...