The word Neanderthal is sometimes used as a synonym for stupid or brutish, but a new fossil analysis has added weight to the hypothesis that our prehistoric cousins actually had collaborative or even compassionate qualities. Evidence of a Neanderthal child wit... More »
Photographs by Greta Rybus Text by Kate OlsonBryan Johnson arrived at the wild blueberry camps on a warm August night in 2023. It was around 1 a.m. Exhausted f... More »
Spinner dolphins swim in the Red Sea. Research has shown some dolphins are shy, while others are extroverted. Alexis Rosenfeld / Getty ImagesDespite our completely different environments, people love connecting with dolphin... More »
By Alex Fox Photograph by Clay BoltBumblebees’ round, hairy bodies are magnets for pollen. Inside flowers, they often “slip, almost fall and somersault,” says ... More »
Earlier today I set you three symmetry puzzles. Here they are again with solutions.The most entertaining way to solve these problems is to cut the pieces out of paper and do the rearranging by hand. However, a generous reader made an interactive version availa... More »
A sharp increase in hardware orbiting Earth could mean more harmful metals lingering in the atmosphere, according to a new study.Low-Earth orbit, a layer of superhighway that wraps around Earth’s thermosphere some 200 to 600 miles above our heads, is newly con... More »
By Joshua Hammer Photographs by Gena SteffensIn the steamy heat of afternoon, Yamit Diaz Romero steered our motorized longboat around overhanging bamboo branch... More »
Today’s puzzles are of a piece. Two, three, and five pieces, to be exact.In each problem you are presented with a set of non-symmetrical shapes. The challenge is to rearrange them without overlaps so the combined shape has a line of symmetry.1. Triangle twinsV... More »
For centuries, lager beer has been made from the same core ingredients: malt, hops and yeast. Curious scientists wondered if they could tweak one of these components and unlock original beer flavors.Using yeast strains found in the bark of trees in Patagonia, ... More »
Pacific gray whales have become smaller this century, a recent analysis suggests.Published in Global Change Biology, the study relied on drone imagery collected off the coast of central Oregon between 2016 and 2022. Researchers identified individual whales, co... More »
An African elephant killed a 64-year-old tourist in Zambia on Wednesday, the second fatal attack in the country this year.A parked tourist vehicle was observing a herd by the Maramba Cultural Bridge in the city of Livingstone when one of the elephants ambushed... More »
A fake foot helps researchers at California State University, Long Beach, determine how stingrays react when they come in contact with people. Thomas R. Cordova / Long Beach PostThis article is from Hakai Magazine, an onlin... More »