A colorful map measures gravity anomalies around the Chicxulub crater

How We Know What Killed the Dinosaurs

How do we know that a meteor caused the extinction of the dinosaurs?
Iguanodons, Megalosaurus and Heliosaurus

Dinosaur Brains And Other Unusual Fossil Finds

How can anything besides bones remain from so many millions of years ago?
A panda chewing on a stalk of bamboo

Why Do Pandas Have Thumbs?

Some panda species have strange thumb-like appendages, but their thumbs evolved for strikingly different reasons.
GMO pears

Are GM Crops Worth It?

GM crops have been controversial from the beginning. Proponents argue they are better commercially, but that analysis is coming into question.
Wild horses

Mustangs: Celebrated Western Icon or Ecological Disaster?

Mustangs, as the wild horses of the American West are known, represent something different for everyone.
Bioluminescent ocean

The Glowing Mystery of Bioluminescence

Bioluminescence, an animal's ability to create and use light, exists exclusively in the lower branches of the tree of life.
Serengeti

Plants Know When They Are Being Eaten. (And They Fight Back.)

Plants have long employed a variety of defensive strategies against herbivores, but the scope and sophistication of these defenses is still being understood.
Moving Forest

The Incredible Moving Forest

For as long as plants have existed, there have been moving forests, migrating across the earth’s surface in response to changes in the climate.
Two Hummingbirds and an Orchid

Are There “Transgender” Proclivities in Animals?

We tend to think of gender expression as uniquely human. But many species gain advantages by projecting an opposite-sex appearance.
mosquito illustration

Believe It or Not, You Don’t Actually Want Mosquitoes Eradicated

What would happen if we actually eliminated mosquitoes?