When it comes to rockets, bell-shaped engines are the norm. But they’re not the most efficient shape. Engineers have relied on this design only because it avoids a known overheating…

Many blind people navigate the world using a cane, guide dog or wearable GPS. But some have something more in their toolkit: echolocation. That’s the ability to sense nearby objects…

Ancient cultures across the globe have been playing games of chance — using dice — far, far longer than historians had ever realized, a new study finds. Researchers turned up…

Superbloom (noun, SOO-per-bloom) Superblooms are massive blooms of desert wildflowers. There isn’t an exact number of flowers required to make something a superbloom. But the word usually describes an above-average…

In Hawaii, ocean trash — including old fishing nets — is being recycled to cover roads. The process is experimental, but it shows promise as a way to deal with…

As a species, humans like it cold. Even now, we live in an “ice age.” Though the term may bring to mind saber-toothed cats and woolly mammoths, such ages are…

Some clouds are flat. Others are puffy. Some are pretty and turn orange or red at sunrise or sunset. Others signal stormy weather and can produce precipitation, such as rain,…

You may not know methanol by name, but this alcohol plays a big role in making a lot of the things in our lives. It’s an ingredient in plastics and…