Decades after the late 1970s, the death of disco has officially hit Europe. That's because the governing body behind most of the continent has banned the sale of several types of plastic glitter, due to the dangers they pose to the environment and to human health. The ban, which went into place on Oct. 17, 2023, comes as part of a larger commitment by the European Commission to reduce the release of microplastics. So, what makes glitter such a terrible threat to ecosystems, and which sorts of gl ...read more

When parents arrive at a daycare at the end of the day, their human toddlers often race into their arms while joyfully screaming, “Mommy!” or “Daddy!” That’s how parents know their kids recognize them.Cats, on the other hand, can be much harder to read. Do they really know the difference between you and your neighbor? Do Cats Recognize Their Owners?(Credit: Anastasiya Tsiasemnikava/ Shutterstock)For many cat owners, the answer to this question is a big fat “duh! Of course, my cat kno ...read more

If you’re anywhere on the Internet, you’ve probably seen them around. They look like a hodgepodge of a guinea pig, beaver, and coconut, but far upsized. They surf on the backs of their parents but double as free cabs and pillows for the rest of the animal kingdom. They’re capybaras, of course, the largest rodents in the world.But even though they are rodents, we adore these creatures. What’s their secret?What Are Capybaras and Why Are They So Popular?(Credit: Henner Damke/Shutterstock)Sc ...read more

During the Eocene Epoch, between 56 and 34 million years ago, West Texas wasn’t the desert it is today. Rather, the ecosystem would have been made up of closed canopied tropical rainforests similar to what we might find in places like Costa Rica today. It was rainy and damp with humidity you could cut with a knife.Many of the fossils found in this part of the world are preserved in the serpentine rivers that meandered through the forests in a landscape dotted with volcanic highlands. It was a ...read more

Walking is perhaps one of the most difficult maneuvers a living creature can perform. And turkeys have highly evolved muscular and skeletal systems that support an efficient mode of locomotion: the trot.Standing still, a turkey is in a state of stable equilibrium. Its center of gravity rests directly over its feet, with its muscles anchored to its skeleton, directing the turkey’s weight down below. While the turkey requires a small amount of energy to remain in balance, this is an efficient, l ...read more

Paleontologists analyzed a 170 million-year-old set of fossils collected from a road project in France and found them to belong to a new, massive underwater predator that stands (or swims) as the oldest-known creature of its kind.A group of local paleontology enthusiasts 40 years ago collected the fossils from a road cutting near Metz in Lorraine, France, and donated them to the Natural History Museum in Luxembourg for safe keeping. The bones remained there until recently, when an international ...read more

The Hittites wrote, and they wrote a lot. In their home turf of Anatolia around 4,000 to 3,000 years ago, Hittite writers recorded state dealings and decrees, myths, rites, and religious rituals. They wrote down the details of their diplomacy, their combat, and their commerce, and they described Hittite celebrations, all on the surface of scratched clay tablets, written in a script called cuneiform. Of course, the thousands of tablets that still survive today are some of the most important recor ...read more

Everyone cooking on Thanksgiving dreads the same thing: a dry turkey. Tough, chewy meat can suck the enjoyment out of a meal, which is why people might consider submerging their holiday bird in a brine overnight.The strategy has kept meats tender for centuries — even ancient Romans had recipes for making a tasty boar ham in seawater. Brining has likely earned its place in cookbooks through time because it’s one of the most effective tactics for ensuring the centerpiece of your meal is actual ...read more

Human-driven climate change is increasingly shaping the Earth’s living environments. Rising temperatures, rapid shifts in rainfall and seasonality, and ocean acidification are presenting altered environments to many animal species. How do animals adjust to these new, often extreme, conditions?Animal nervous systems play a central role in both enabling and limiting how they respond to changing climates. Two of my main research interests as a biologist and neuroscientist involve understanding ...read more

If you live in the United States, chances are that cashiers often ask whether you want to donate to a cause their employer is currently supporting. Organizations like Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America or relief efforts in Ukraine were among the causes retailers championed in 2022.You may be asked if you’d like to round up your total to the nearest dollar, to add on a small amount or to “buy” a shamrock, heart or some other token that will be dis ...read more