SCIENCE

Why Do Babies Start Crying As Soon As You Sit Down?

Wondering how to stop a baby from crying? Unfortunately, the answer doesn’t involve sinking into your comfiest armchair.

How to Crack an Egg, According to Science

If you find your countertop splattered with an egg crime scene, you might benefit from these useful tips.

The race for an effective coronavirus vaccine is showing signs of real success.

Pfizer's Coronavirus Vaccine Appears 90 Percent Effective in Early Review

Pfizer's vaccine, which uses messenger RNA to instruct the body to mount a defense against the coronavirus, is showing highly promising results in the first real evidence of efficacy of any coronavirus vaccine trial.

Why Are Oceans Salty?

The salt in the ocean comes from two main sources: rocks on land and vents at the bottom of the sea.

What Happens When You Let a Glass of Soda Sit Out for 3 Months? This Timelapse Shows You (and It's Not Pretty)

Temponaut Timelapse filmed the decomposition of a glass of cola over 105 days, and the results aren't pretty.

The 10 Happiest Songs, According to Science

Music preferences are subjective, but there are certain quantifiable metrics that help us identify the best upbeat songs.

A nameless northern lights show in Ylläs, Finland.

The Northern Lights Storms Are Getting Names—and You Can Offer Up Your Suggestions

Whether you’ve seen a northern lights show in Alaska, Iceland, or not at all, you’re eligible to suggest they name the next storm after your dog.

Grant Imahara attends San Diego Comic-Con

Late MythBusters Star Grant Imahara Honored With New STEAM Foundation

Grant Imahara, who passed away in July at age 49, is the namesake of The Grant Imahara STEAM Foundation, which will help bring opportunities to students.

How African Dust Storms Create the Caribbean’s Beautiful Beaches—and Protect Them from Hurricanes

Bermuda's red soil and the Bahamas's white-sand beaches might have come from the same place: the Sahara Desert.

The dreaded 'wrong pipe' calamity can strike at any time.

What Really Happens When Food Goes Down the 'Wrong Pipe'?

It's a bit of an oversimplification, but the food you eat really can take a wrong turn before it hits your stomach.

8-Year-Old Twinkies Intrigue Fungus Experts

A Twinkie was found shriveled-up and hardened after eight years in a basement, and now scientists are searching for the fungus behind the transformation.

15 Fun Gifts for an Amateur Naturalist

All you really need to study the natural world is a hearty amount of curiosity—but the right goods and gear can certainly help.

This year's first place finisher is a young zebrafish photographed from above.

See the Big Winners of Nikon’s Microscopic Photo Competition

Snail tongues and nylon stockings are surprisingly beautiful. Fruit bat skeletons, on the other hand? Terrifying.

Study Finds Slow-Blinking at Your Cat Could Improve Your Communication

You can’t exactly spell out “I love you” via blinking, but it could help you send positive vibes to your precious pet.

There's a good chance his parents have dimples, too.

Why Do Some People Have Dimples?

Genetics probably play a part in dimple formation, and so does a muscle called the “zygomaticus major.”

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna Receive Nobel Prize in Chemistry for CRISPR Gene Editing Tool

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna have been awarded 2020's Nobel Prize in Chemistry, making them the first women to jointly receive the prize.

People in Victorian London were amazed by a stage effect perfected by John Henry Pepper that had them seeing a ghost.

How 'Pepper's Ghost' Became the Toast of Victorian London

In the mid-1800s, John Henry Pepper was a superstar in science demonstrations. Then he helped usher in a dramatic special effect that left Victorian London awestruck.

Who wouldn't be screaming in this situation?

Why Are Humans Afraid of Bugs?

Our ancestors may have predisposed us to fear spiders, insects, and other many-legged creatures, but there's a lot more to it.

A look at the Global Safety Net's online map application.

Which Places Should We Protect First to Stop Climate Change? This Interactive Map Tells You

Certain lands can store large quantities of carbon (though we also need to cut carbon emissions in the first place).

Tattoos might inhibit a person's ability to sweat.

Your Tattoos Could Be Messing With Your Sweat Glands

A small study found that inked skin has a reduced ability to cool itself off, pointing to possible damage to sweat glands.

Surprise: Cows Poop Corn Kernels, Too

Cows can digest tough materials much better than humans, which is a testament to the near-indestructibility of corn.

Acorn woodpeckers like to watch a good fight, and scientists aren't sure why.

Bird Battle Royale: Acorn Woodpeckers Fight to the Death, and Other Birds Like to Watch

Groups of warring woodpeckers butt heads over territory and acorns. Other woodpeckers fly in from miles away to witness their avian prizefights.

Killer whales might be lashing out in response to decades of disruption by humans.

Orca-Strated Attack: Killer Whales Are Crashing Into Boats, Seemingly On Purpose

Killer whales have repeatedly laid siege to boats, working in concert in what appear to be deliberate acts of aggression.

Meet Your Home's Microbes in The Great Indoors

Author Emily Anthes explores the thriving communities of bacteria and fungi with which we share our abodes—and what they reveal about us.

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