SCIENCE

11 Apps That Will Make You Feel Smarter

Your smartphone is the window to all the knowledge in the world—and these apps will help you unlock it.

Venus Flytraps in Peril: Why Everyone's Favorite Carnivorous Houseplant Is Under Threat

The Venus flytrap is a favorite houseplant, but its ubiquity hides a world of threats. Now, some scientists think they have a solution for saving it.

Does the Amazon Rainforest Really Produce 20 Percent of the World's Oxygen?

For years, media outlets have claimed that the Amazon rainforest is responsible for producing 20 percent of the world's oxygen. But is it true?

Fancy Tea Bags Could Be Contaminating Your Cup With Billions of Microplastics

Some fancy tea bags made from silky plastic material diffuse more than tea into your cup. A recent study found they can leach up to 11.6 billion particles of microplastic.

Retro Analysis: The Science of Nostalgia

What keeps us coming back to old cartoons, movies, and the '90210' reboot? The same reward system in the brain that responds to eating great food or winning money.

What Purpose Does the Belly Button Serve?

It may have done its most important work when it was attached to your umbilical cord, but it’s not completely useless.

8 Fascinating Facts About Body Farms

These morbidly fascinating research facilities allow criminal investigators to probe what happens to bodies after death.

Dreaming Might Help Us Erase Unneeded Memories

Our brains might be using REM sleep as a time to sweep away unnecessary information and prepare for a fresh influx of knowledge.

Alcohol-Producing Gut Bacteria May Harm Livers—Even if You Don't Drink

A type of bacteria in the gut could be making enough alcohol to damage livers, even in people who have never had a drop of booze.

5 Hilarious Discoveries from the 2019 Ig Nobel Prize Winners

From cube-shaped wombat poop to postmen’s scrotal temperatures, these weird science experiments have taught us a lot.

An Exercise in Poo-Tility: Scientist Tries to Make a Knife Out of Poop

In an effort to substantiate an old tale of an Inuit who crafted a knife out of feces, a Kent State University professor attempted to forge a similar tool from his own poop. The results stunk.

How Two Biologists Put A Killer Whale Back Together, Bone by Bone

When an orca whale was found dead near Vancouver Island in British Columbia, it wasn't the end of its story. Two of the world's best skeleton articulators gave the killer whale a second life in a museum.

The Reason Newborn Babies Don't Produce Tears

Newborns can wail like emergency sirens, but you don't typically see them producing tears. Here's why.

Shocker: This Electric Eel Delivers More Voltage Than Any Creature on Earth

The newly identified species of eel, 'Electrophorus voltai,' can deliver 860 volts to incapacitate prey.

Meet Garlic, China’s First Cloned Kitten

The “copy cat” cost $35,000 and doesn’t look exactly like the original, but he’s still an undeniably adorable animal clone.

Strawberry with Penicillium sp. mold, Rudolf Blaschka, 1929

Rotting Fruit—Made of Glass—Is the Focus of a New Exhibition at Harvard

Instead of showcasing more attractive crops, 'Fruits In Decay' at the Harvard Museum of Natural History displays the diseased fruits that don't make it to market.

Environmental DNA Evidence Suggests the Loch Ness Monster Could Be a Giant Eel

A genetic analysis of the waters of Loch Ness found an unusually high amount of eel DNA, indicating that Nessie may not be an elusive plesiosaur after all.

Amazing Timelapse Shows Florida Sky Turning Purple Following Hurricane Dorian

The apocalyptic purple clouds that were spotted over Florida following Hurricane Dorian were the result of a perfectly normal phenomenon called scattering.

Study: Drinking More Than Two Sodas Daily Can Increase Risk of Death

Soft drinks invite a host of health complications. A major new study warns that consuming even two glasses a day can have you fizzing out.

A First Edition of Darwin's On the Origin of Species Could Sell for $180,000

The 1859 work prompted a new era of thinking about nature and humanity. A first edition will likely wind up in the hands of a collector who has evolved to have very deep pockets.

Switzerland Has a Unique Way of Trying to Save a Prized Glacier: Wrap It in Blankets

Believe it or not, that’s not even the weirdest way scientists have proposed to halt glacial melting.

Could Gigantic Coconut Crabs Have Played a Part in Amelia Earhart’s Mysterious Disappearance? At Least One Scientist Thinks So

Thirteen human bones that may have been Amelia Earhart’s were found and promptly lost. But what happened to the other 193?

Bombshell, Victoria’s Secret’s Bestselling Fragrance, Also Happens to Repel Mosquitoes

Want to ward off blood-sucking pests? DEET is still your best bet, but if you want something that smells a little sweeter, Bombshell is a reliable second pick.

Mystery Solved: Scientists Have Figured Out Why Some Squirrels Are Black

The black squirrel is an uncommon sight in the squirrel population. Scientists now believe they know why.

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