Life

  1. Earth

    Analyze This: Nutrients from sewage may harm coastal ecosystems

    A new model suggests that 58 percent of coral reefs and 88 percent of seagrass beds are exposed to excess nitrogen from wastewater.

    By
  2. Space

    Let’s learn about the hunt for alien life

    Finding any extraterrestrials, from advanced alien civilizations to simple microbes, would be an unmatched discovery.

    By
  3. Archaeology

    Vikings were in North America 1,000 years ago

    Wooden objects provide the most precise dating yet for a Viking settlement on the coast of Newfoundland in Canada.

    By
  4. Life

    Scientists Say: Experiment

    An experiment is a set of procedures to learn about the world — and an important part of the scientific process.

    By
  5. Fossils

    Fossils point to earliest dinosaurs that lived in herds

    A fossilized family gathering of long-necked Mussaurus from 193 million years ago is the earliest evidence yet of herd behavior in dinos.

    By
  6. Animals

    Explainer: The age of dinosaurs

    Take a trip back to the Mesozoic Era to explore how geologic events, ecosystems and evolution were connected during the so-called age of dinosaurs.

    By
  7. Humans

    The ultimate genealogical search hunts for our earliest ancestors

    The complex search to identify humans’ most distant cousins is long, complex and far from straightforward. It’s also far from over.

    By
  8. Humans

    Genetics show humans likely trace back to Africa

    Our history began looking ever more complex once geneticists revealed our ancestors picked up new DNA as they traveled across time and continents.

    By
  9. Animals

    Baleen whales eat — and poop — a lot more than we thought

    The amount of food that some whales eat and then poop out suggests these animals have a powerful influence over ocean ecosystems.

    By
  10. Humans

    Want to improve your reading skills? You might just need more space

    A simple change by publishers and Web designers could help kids — both with and without dyslexia — read faster and better.

    By
  11. Environment

    Leaky sewer pipes pollute urban streams and bays with drugs

    Scientists find that leaking sewer pipes around Baltimore, Md., spew thousands of doses of medicines into the Chesapeake Bay and other waterways.

    By
  12. Plants

    Let’s learn about meat-eating plants

    Carnivorous plants use a variety of strategies to lure in and capture their prey, from sticky traps to jawlike leaves.

    By