Space rocks floating in space as a spacecraft shines a light towards them

Kuiper Belt Objects Are as Mysterious as They Are Distant

Recently the New Horizons spacecraft made the first flyby of a Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) in the extreme outer solar system. What do we know about KBOs?
A meteor striking earth

How to Avoid a Meteor

It isn’t likely that Earth will be hit by a large meteor, but if it were, the results would be catastrophic.
A model showing the layers of Earth

The Woman Who Found the Earth’s Inner Core

Inge Lehmann was the seismologist and mathematician who figured out what the Earth's core was actually made of.
Reflection of crocodile submerged in water, Australia

Coexisting With Crocodiles

Conservation efforts have led to increased crocodile populations in areas like the Philippines. It's great news for the crocs. Not so much for the people.
Supermassive black hole

Rotating Black Holes May Serve as Gentle Portals for Hyperspace Travel

Feel like visiting another star system or dimension? You can do this by traveling through a black hole.
An opossum feigning death

The Biology of Death-Feigning

Some animals, when faced with predators, play dead instead of trying to escape. But for death-feigning to work, a lot of things have to go well.
Mary Agnes Chase collecting plants in Brazil in 1929.

The Woman Agrostologist Who Held the Earth Together

When government wouldn't fund female fieldwork, Agnes Chase pulled together her own resources.
A grid of people talking animatedly on their cell phones

To Save Civilization, Hang Up Your Phone

It's uniquely annoying to listen to one side of someone else's cellphone call. Our technology columnist examines why that is.
Bilateral Gynandromorph Cardinal

The Mysterious Gynandromorph

Gynandromorphy is an extremely rare condition in which an animal is half male and half female. It's most visible in birds and butterflies.
Long-tailed pangolin (Phataginus tetradactyla), Mangamba, Littoral Province, Cameroon

The Pangolin Extinction Vortex

This shy, strange-looking, nocturnal mammal has been poached nearly to extinction.