Red adzuki beans are a beloved staple in East Asia. Cooks tuck a sweet paste made from them inside mochi, swirl it into mooncakes and layer it beneath custard in…

Genome (noun, “JEE-nome”) A genome is an organism’s complete set of genetic instructions. For most living things, genetic instructions come in the form of DNA. This molecule contains the instructions…

Ask Google “how fast were dinosaurs,” and you’ll quickly get a bunch of answers. It’s said that Tyrannosaurus rex could have run a five-minute mile — and Velociraptors could have…

Over the last 35 years, the Hubble Space Telescope has brought us one stunning view of the universe after another. To date, this school bus–sized telescope has observed more than…

What do viruses sound like? Scientists recently found out. They developed a way to eavesdrop on these and other microbes. This new tech can help scientists study such microbes and…

A possible cousin of Pluto seems to be circling the far reaches of the solar system.  Known as 2017 OF201, it’s a suspected dwarf planet — a round rock too big to…

Steppe (noun, “STEP”) A steppe is a flat, dry grassland. These grassy plains occur in temperate regions with a dry climate. Steppes contain mostly grasses — often short — and…

Nearly 100 million years ago, a drop of tree resin captured a gruesome scene: a fungus bursting from the body of a young ant. That resin eventually hardened into amber.…