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?
The Real-Life Meg
One of the many misconceptions about the ancient megalodon is that it was an extinct, larger ancestor of the great white shark.
Why Victorian Gardeners Loathed Magenta
For decades, British and American gardeners avoided magenta flowers. The color had associations with the unnatural and the poisonous.
The Mysteries of Crown Shyness
In some forests, trees grow in a manner that keeps their branches from touching one another. Despite decades of study, scientists aren't exactly sure why.
Bees and the World-Wide Farming Web
Connections between beekeepers in the 17th and 18th centuries created the early “world-wide farming web”—a way to share information across long distances.
Africa’s Mighty Baobabs
Sub-Saharan Africa's iconic baobab trees are experiencing die-offs at an alarming rate. What makes these distinctive trees so unique?
The Legacy of Koko the Gorilla
The jury is still out on whether or not Koko's signing skills proved that apes can learn language. But we certainly learned a lot from the famous gorilla.