Seven Things You Might Not Know About Cranberries
They're red, tart, and mostly eaten at Thanksgiving. Love them or hate them, here are seven things you might not have known about the humble cranberry.
The Raffish and Radical Constantine Samuel Rafinesque
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque was an adventuring naturalist who named 2,700 genera and wrote about evolution before Darwin. Why has he been forgotten?
The Last Vigil of the Octopus Parent
For some species of octopus, reproducing is a lonely act that ends in death.
Wollemi Pine, Dinosaur Tree
The Wollemi Pine is an ancient tree, virtually unchanged since herbivorous dinosaurs last munched on them.
Catching Cats With Cologne
The cat-attracting ability of perfume has been known since at least the 18th century. Will it help authorities catch a killer tiger?
How to Be the Fattest Bear
Gaining enough weight to survive a winter of hibernation is actually very hard work.
The Great Seaweed Invasion
In the Caribbean, sargassum deposits have grown to unprecedented sizes, obscuring the sand and turning nearshore waters into seething sargassum soup.
The Most Abundant Creature You’ve Never Heard Of
Conodonts are actually older than the oldest previously known vertebrates, making them the earliest known “skeletonized” vertebrates in existence.
Why Would Scientists Give an Octopus Ecstasy?
In a perplexing recent study, researchers dosed octopuses. Turns out, scientists have long studied the similarities between cephalopod and human brains.
Do Artificial Reefs Work?
Some authorities are trying to create fish habitats by cleaning old structures and dumping them at sea. But do these artificial reefs really work?