Today’s potatoes arose out of an unlikely mashup — with a tomato. Until now, the potato’s origin and evolution had long been a scientific mystery. It now appears that the…

Just seeing someone who looks sick may trigger our brains and bodies to go into infection-fighting mode. This finding comes from people who viewed faces in virtual reality. If the…

Element (noun, “EL-eh-mint”) An element is a pure substance made of only one type of atom. Each atom consists of three smaller particles. These are electrons, neutrons and protons. The…

On Jeju Island in South Korea live women who dive deep into the East China Sea. There, they harvest sea urchins and shellfish. Known as Haenyeo, or sea women, they…

Want to be a pitcher? Start practicing. Want to be a great pitcher? Apply a little physics. Sometimes a pitcher will want a ball to curve in a particular direction. Other…

A massive bolt of lightning lit up the sky from Dallas, Texas, to Kansas City, Mo., in October 2017. It’s now officially the longest single flash ever recorded. Satellite data…

Would a rose by any other shape smell as sweet? Maybe. Yet the shape of a rose is part of its beauty — and why these flowers fascinate scientists. As…

Quantitative and Qualitative (adjectives, “KWAN-ti-tay-tiv” and “KWAL-eh-tay-tiv”) The words “quantitative” and “qualitative” describe two kinds of data. These terms also describe research using each kind of data. Quantitative research relies…