Carbon dioxide is a climate-warming greenhouse gas. Trees are renowned for capturing it as they grow. But through microbes in their bark, trees soak up other major climate gases, too,…

Dozens of millennia-old Arabian cheetahs lie frozen in time. Researchers uncovered the ancient skeletons and mummies in Middle Eastern caves. No wild cheetah has roamed this region for decades. But…

In the Pokémon world, Pikachu is a chubby yellow mouse. It may look cute and harmless — but don’t be fooled. When its red cheeks start sparking and it whips…

Symptom (noun, “SIMP-tum”) A symptom is a clue that something is wrong. In medicine and psychology, a symptom is an effect of an illness or condition that a person feels.…

Toddlers are the daredevils of the chimp world. Those 2 to 5 years old are more likely than older chimps to free-fall from treetops or leap wildly from branch to…

If you want a glimpse of the future of Antarctica, look at King George Island. It sits at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. This finger of land, which…

Graphene is a wonder. This single layer of carbon atoms is stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum. It conducts electricity better than many other materials. And recent studies now…

A basketball player’s smooth, nothing-but-net shot. A softball pitcher’s wicked curveball. A football quarterback’s beautiful spiral toss. These aren’t just athletic spectacles. They’re feats of physics. Making a ball take…

Pollination (noun, “pah-lih-NAY-shun”) Pollination is a step in a plant’s life cycle that allows it to make seeds. It is the transfer of pollen from the male parts of a…

Mosasaurs — a fearsome group of ancient predators — once ruled the seas. Now researchers have turned up a 66-million-year fossil tooth from one. And the big surprise: It came…