In 2023, volunteers like you made over two million contributions to SciStarter Affiliate projects. That’s two million data points scientists wouldn’t have had otherwise.The top five projects this year included both perennial favorites and newcomers, and touched on subjects near and far: the night sky, backyards and even inside our bodies. Check them out below, and if you haven’t yet, give them a try!As the year comes to a close, we’re also celebrating citizen scientists who have gone abo ...read more

Europe is home to prime areas for growing aromatic hops, a flower used in brewing beer. But, as conditions get hotter and drier, hop yields have declined in the continent’s hop-growing heartland, according to a study recently published in Nature Communications. Not only that, but soaring temperatures are also reducing hops’ alpha acid content, the source of beer’s bitter flavor.Though the findings seem to spell an uncertain future for hoppy beer, some experts have cautioned that changing ...read more

Although whales are mammals that breathe air, they spend most of their time roaming the depths of the oceans. There, sound travels faster underwater and farther than it does on the world’s surface, at about 1500 meters per second compared to just 340 meters per second in air. So, a whale’s world is replete with sound — it’s a key element to its survival, touching everything from socializing and breeding to navigation and feeding. But if whales don’t have any sign of external ears, how ...read more

In 2011, my husband and I moved into our first home, a small beach shack atop wooden stilts a few blocks off the beach in South Carolina. The house was a dream aside from the overstuffed marsh rats that scurried across the basement floor morning, noon, and night. When their whiskers twitched, they revealed razor-sharp front teeth, and their furless tails dangled behind them like a wedding train. Memories of those rats still send shivers up my spine.It doesn’t matter how laid back you are when ...read more

In the 1984 film Iceman, a prehistoric man who has been frozen in a glacier for 40,000 years is revived by a team of curious scientists. It’s a fascinating premise. Scientists have spent their entire careers deliberating over the life history of ancient mummies like Ötzi the Iceman, who was found frozen in the Alps around 5,000 years after his death. But what if we could just wake him up and ask him? Unfortunately, the prospect of reviving a frozen mummy like Ötzi from an ice-induced slumber ...read more

They go by many names – pigs, hogs, swine, razorbacks – but whatever you call them, wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are one of the most damaging invasive species in North America. They cause millions of dollars in crop damage yearly and harbor dozens of pathogens that threaten humans and pets, as well as meat production systems.Although wild pigs have been present in North America for centuries, their populations have rapidly expanded over the past several decades. Recent studies estimate that s ...read more

Humans have sailed the world’s oceans for thousands of years, but they haven’t all reached port. Researchers estimate that there are some three million shipwrecks worldwide, resting in shallow rivers and bays, coastal waters and the deep ocean. Many sank during catastrophes – some during storms or after running aground, others in battle or collisions with other vessels.Shipwrecks like the RMS Titanic, RMS Lusitania and USS Monitor conjure tales of human courage and sacrifice, sunken ...read more

Year after year, new scientific discoveries and advancements are made, and 2023 has been no different. From spooky sharks to Benjamin Franklin to head-tilting puppies, our top stories of 2023 are ones for the record book. Here are 10 of our favorite stories from the last year. 1. That Irresistible Head Tilt: Why Do Dogs Turn Their Heads to One Side?(Credit: Mary Swift/Shutterstock)How could anyone resist such an adorable gesture? We know we can’t. There are several theories on why dogs tilt t ...read more

The year 2023 brought a flurry of pivotal advancements to the field of genomics. Three large databases — one of humans, one more broadly of mammals, and one of primates (see sidebar on page 54) — are promising brand new revelations about the source code of life, especially as it pertains to our own species. A notable milestone for a one-of-a-kind repository of ancient DNA could hold similar insights from our ancestors, as well.What Is a Genome Database?These massive genomic repositories will ...read more

When winter arrives, daylight and food is scarce. Hunkering down to avoid the cold probably seems quite appealing. In the animal kingdom, many species have adapted to do just that by hibernating. You may think of bears when you think of hibernation. But, bears don’t count as true hibernators. Rather they enter a state called “torpor,” a hibernation-like state that’s more akin to a deep sleep. While in this state, a bear’s temperature doesn’t drop drastically, and they can walk somew ...read more