While at Brown University in Providence, R.I., oceanographer Lily Dove studied the physics of Antarctica’s Southern Ocean with the help of some unusual, furry assistants: Antarctic seals. “They’re oceanographers,” she…

When you hear the word “fossil,” you might at first think of a dinosaur skeleton at your local museum. Or perhaps the imprints of leaves or shells in a rock…

Proteins are made of building blocks known as amino acids. Human proteins are made of various combinations of 20 of these. A diet especially rich in one of them —…

Antimatter (noun, “AN-tee-MAT-ter”) Antimatter is made of antiparticles. Think of antiparticles like partners of ordinary particles, but with the opposite properties. You’ve likely heard of protons, neutrons and electrons. These…

Our sweets cravings may have set the stage for the human brain to become big and powerful. That’s the finding of a new study. The brains of our upright-walking ancestors,…

One of Earth’s most vital ocean currents is rapidly weakening. The cause: global warming. A collapse of this current could send devastating ripples through the planet’s climate. The current is…

Earth has frozen over in the past — at least five times. Science fiction is full of takes about how it might happen again and the implications of a modern…

Orcas have been known to slap around stingrays, punt seals into the air and otherwise play with their food. But orcas, or killer whales, don’t just toy with live prey.…