77 Items Tagged

Research

These unassuming lichens growing on rocks in Antarctica may have a sexy secret.

The Secret Sex Lives of Lichens

Researchers found these dusty clumps of green and brown may be hiding how they get it on.

Roxanne Hoorn November 26, 2024

Each fall, amorous male tarantulas prowl the Colorado plains in search of mates, who may or may not kill them.

Why Did the Spider Cross the Road?

In Colorado, tap-dancing male tarantulas risk everything for love—including becoming lunch.

Karuna Eberl November 6, 2024

Millican, Oregon

Pine Mountain Observatory

In the high desert east of Bend, the University of Oregon maintains a research observatory on a remote mountain peak.

The mummies of Tarim Basin are up to 3,600 years old.

This Mummy Cheese Is Full of Ancient Secrets

The world's oldest known cheese holds the key to kefir's mysterious origins.

Roxanne Hoorn September 25, 2024

Researchers at Flinders University in Australia use sound to study soil health.

How Can You Tell If Soil Is Healthy? Just Listen to It.

Ground-breaking "ecoacoustics" use underground critter concerts to monitor a hidden ecosystem.

Ayurella Horn-Muller September 9, 2024

The more we try to keep raccoons out of our trash bins, the better they get at breaking in.

Can You Outsmart a Raccoon?

Recent studies show just how tricky these trash pandas can be, from opening locks to nabbing DoorDash orders.

Roxanne Hoorn August 30, 2024

The island of Cyprus was an ancient mecca for herbal perfumes.

Resurrecting the Scents of Ancient Cyprus

An experimental archaeology park lets visitors get a whiff of the island's aromatic past.

Anna K. Cottrell August 15, 2024

For some 4,500 years, Stonehenge has attracted and fascinated humans—now it turns out the Altar Stone, at its center, is from Scotland.

Stonehenge Has a Scottish Heart

Long thought to be from Wales, the monument's Altar Stone is from northern Scotland, nearly 500 miles away.

Roxanne Hoorn August 14, 2024

Researchers are rushing to document carvings made by Basque herders, before they're gone.

The Disappearing Arborglyphs Carved by Sheepherders Across the American West

Basque immigrants inscribed jokes, names, and historical happenings on aspen trees.

Iñaki Arrieta Baro July 15, 2024

The major eruption of Mount Vesuvius over Pompeii is often known for the lives it took, but new research details the stories of the event's survivors.

Found: Records of Pompeii's Survivors

New evidence shows how citizens rebuilt their lives in the aftermath of the historic eruption.

Steven Tuck July 8, 2024

The Kutuk River in Alaska's Gates of the Arctic National Park is one of 75 orange-stained rivers found in the region.

Dozens of Alaska Rivers are Turning an Eerie Orange

The cause is just as concerning as the color.

Charis McGowan June 28, 2024

Upton, New York

Brookhaven Gamma Forest

Starting in 1961, Brookhaven National Labs regularly irradiated a section of forest with a canister of Cesium-137 to study the effects of hard gamma radiation on an ecosystem.

Meet the Giant Salmon With a Weaponized Mustache

Spike-toothed salmon grew nearly nine feet long and sported tusk-like teeth.

Roxanne Hoorn April 24, 2024

National Astronomy Observatory Japan Mitaka Campus

The headquarters of one of Japan’s leading astronomy research institutions features several historic observatory facilities and a 2,000-year-old burial mound.

In Nara City, Japan, sika deer have been protected for over a thousand years due to their sacred status in Shintoism.

Decoding the Sacred Genetics of Japan's Sika Deer

The deer of Nara Park are part of a millennium-old genetic lineage—does that make them more deserving of protection?

Roxanne Hoorn April 9, 2024

Temperature changes on the ground during eclipses can cause certain types of clouds to temporarily clear.

Why Clouds Vanish During Solar Eclipses

New research explains the science behind the sudden disappearance of fluffy cumulus clouds during a solar eclipse.

Roxanne Hoorn March 22, 2024

McMurdo Station, Antarctica

Observation Tube

A vertical tube that allows you to see what's going on underneath the Antarctic sea ice.

Many-armed sunflower sea stars are fast-moving and can grow to the diameter of a bicycle tire, making them formidable hunters.

Baby Sea Stars Are Voracious Predators That Might Just Save an Ecosystem

Along the Pacific Coast, fast and furious sunflower sea stars are vicious hunters as adults—and they're even hungrier when young.

Roxanne Hoorn February 27, 2024