They say April showers bring May flowers. But here’s another upside to rain any time of year: It could power some of your lights with clean, green energy.  Hydropower typically…

Prototype (noun, “PROH-toh-typ”) A prototype is a test version of an invention or product. It could be a physical item. But it could also be something digital, such as an…

The buzz of an approaching bee or wasp spurs many people to flee. Some plants respond to “hearing” insects, too. One common garden bloom can tell the difference between the…

Summertime soaks in the pool often leave fingertips shriveled and pruney. Each time someone goes for a dip, their digits wrinkle in the precise same patterns, data now show. Those…

You know that feeling. You see someone yawn and all of a sudden you, too, feel the urge to yawn. It turns out that’s not unique to people, or even…

On some Martian nights, a subtle, green glow hangs low in the sky. It glimmers just above the horizon in every direction. Now, for the first time, a Mars rover…

Heat dome (noun, “HEET DOHM”) A heat dome occurs when hot weather stalls over an area for days or weeks at a time. It forms when warm air at Earth’s…

When it comes to making a splash, technique tops brute force. And new research reveals the secret to record-setting splashes. New Zealand’s Māori and Pasifika communities developed the Manu jump.…

Whale poop is loaded with nutrients. It’s one way these marine mammals move useful material around the ocean. But their liquid wastes are valuable, too. Some whales migrate thousands of…