SCIENCE

Unusual Half-Male, Half-Female Northern Cardinal Spotted in Pennsylvania

If you’re bird-watching near Warren County, Pennsylvania, keep an eye out for this beautiful rare bird.

The northern lights in northwest Canada.

Transport Yourself With This Northern Lights Livestream

An in-person aurora borealis show might be a little out of range for most of us—this northern lights livestream is the next best thing.

Tim Laman, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY 4.0

20 Amazing Animals Discovered in the Last 20 Years

In the two decades since Mental Floss first hit newsstands, some pretty incredible animals have entered the world of mainstream science.

Microscopic Wasps Will Help Stamp Out a Moth Infestation at Anne Boleyn’s Ancestral Home

It’s the ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ of the insect world, featuring a cameo by Anne Boleyn’s headless ghost.

Ready Player Oink: Pigs Can Be Taught to Play Video Games

Researchers trained four pigs to move a cursor on a screen using a joystick for a food reward. The swine went full 'Pong.'

See How Many Balloons It Would Take to Lift the House from Pixar's Up

Using a computer simulation, this video visualizes the many millions of balloons that would be needed to lift the house from Pixar's 'Up' in real life.

Sea Cucumbers on One Coral Reef Drop Several Eiffel Towers’ Worth of Poop Each Year—and That’s a Good Thing

Slow clap for sea cucumbers, whose excretory achievements could help slow climate change damage to the Great Barrier Reef.

Vintage illustration of Thomas Edison and the phonograph.

11 Surprising Facts About Thomas Edison

You may know that Thomas Edison was a prolific inventor who revolutionized the electric light bulb. But have you heard about his creepy talking dolls?

New Spacecraft Named After Katherine Johnson Honors the Pioneering NASA Mathematician

A cargo craft delivering supplies to the International Space Station has been named after Katherine Johnson, the influential "human computer" who helped send the first Americans to space.

What Exactly Is White Noise?

Your favorite ASMR playlist probably isn’t true white noise—or brown noise or pink noise, for that matter.

The World's Tiniest Reptile Has Disproportionately Large Genitals

'Brookesia nana' males may be less than 1 inch long, but they make up for it by being able to strut around a locker room with enormous reproductive organs.

Sprout of Office: Scientists Taught Spinach Plants to Send Emails About Hazardous Materials in the Soil

“I hope this email finds you well during these unprecedented times.” —A spinach plant in your inbox.

National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), NOAA

What Exactly Is a Nor’easter?

Nor’easters have earned their reputation for wreaking havoc on land. But what qualifies a storm as a nor’easter?

Say “Freeze!”: An Innovative High-Resolution Camera Captures the Stunning Intricacies of Snowflakes

Snowflake photography is a tricky business, so one innovative cameraman built a whole new device for it.

Double-masking can offer additional protection.

Does Double-Masking for Coronavirus Protection Make Sense? We Asked an Expert

The practice of doubling up on masks has been gaining attention, but it's not new advice. An expert explains.

10 Foods You Can Safely Eat After the Expiration Date

While there's no single answer to how long eggs are good after their expiration date, they usually don't spoil right away.

Psittacosaurus may have attracted mates using its fetching rear end.

Rectum Mended Reading: Paleontologists Have Reconstructed a Dinosaur's Butthole to Understand Their Mating Habits

The rear end of a 'Psittacosaurus' fossil was so well-preserved that scientists were able to reconstruct it. It even had a little poop in it.

Why Does Our Hair Grow Darker as We Get Older?

You can chalk it up to hormone changes, but your genes aren’t so innocent when it comes to hair color.

Game of Thrones’s Dire Wolves Existed—But a New Study Suggests They Weren’t Really Wolves

New research suggests that the real-life inspiration for Ghost from 'Game of Thrones' wasn’t a wolf species.

Young alligators can regenerate their tails.

Surprise! Alligators Can Regrow Their Tails

A small study of four young American alligators demonstrated that they can regrow damaged tails up to 9 inches in length.

Bats can get cranky when they're being bothered by other bats.

Bats Argue a Lot, According to Science

The winged creatures are a mainstay of the macabre. But bats are probably too busy yelling at each other to bother you.

Mercury Reaches Its Greatest Eastern Elongation in January 2021

Kick off another year of skygazing by catching Mercury at its greatest distance from the sun on the evening of January 23.

Scientists Have Observed Octopuses "Punching" Fish Silly

Researchers at the University of Lisbon have confirmed that octopuses will not hesitate to check a fish by smacking it senseless.

Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency relaxes on board the International Space Station on December 25, 2014.

Starry Night: A History of Celebrating Christmas in Space

The space program often calls for astronauts to be in orbit for the holidays. Here's how they do it.

PREV NEXT