Shorebirds fly thousands of miles each year along ancient and largely unknown migratory routes called flyways. But their populations are crashing amidst climate change and urban development. Global Big Day, on May 11, is your opportunity to get involved during this momentous global migration and help scientists understand how bird populations are changing. Participate in the projects we’ve curated for you below and watch the extraordinary film Flyways, produced by SciStarter partner HHMI Tangl ...read more

If you’re a lazy cook, this will probably come as good news: Not only do you not have to peel most fruits and vegetables before you cook or eat them, you shouldn’t peel most of them.Several studies over the years have found that the peels of fruits and vegetables contain lots of nutrients. “Peelings are excellent, excellent sources of many vitamins and minerals, specifically vitamin C, vitamin K, and the B vitamins,” says Amy Bragagnini, board-certified oncology nutrition specialist and ...read more

Dolphins are known by many for their playful nature and remarkable intelligence. But experts say they have far more in common with humans than meets the eye — like the fact that they’ve been known to form highly advanced social dynamics, building friendships and relationships much like we do.  Dolphins typically live in groups called pods, which can consist of as few as two dolphins or as many as 1,000 dolphins in a “super-pod”. Most pods include somewhere between 40 and 60 dolphins, a ...read more

The brown note, sometimes called the brown frequency, is an infrasonic noise frequency that has a particular effect. Hence the name: If you play a note at this very low frequency, it’s known to make you lose your bowels. That’s right, a sound frequency that causes you to run to the potty. Only, it’s not true. According to experts, there is currently no frequency known to man that will make you poop. But some may ask, what is the brown note?The brown note myth likely started as an interne ...read more

Chimps know how to get a grip. What’s more, after they learn how to grasp objects, they show they can improve their hold and modify it for different tasks. This ability starts young and develops well into adulthood, according to observations published in PLOS Biology.Chimps Experiment With GripsFor the recent study, scientists video-recorded 70 wild chimps of various ages using sticks to retrieve food over several years at Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire in Africa. Their intent was to see ...read more

Writing over 2,000 years ago, the Roman author Pliny the Elder stated unequivocally that “without salt, by Hercules, one cannot have a civilized life”. Looking back across the span of human history, it's hard to disagree with Pliny's assessment. Different peoples and cultures across the globe have sought out salt for a variety of reasons. Though today, salt is much maligned due to its presence, and overabundance, in many foods, human beings do need a certain amount of it for a healthy lifest ...read more

An ion might be to blame for an almost dry and devoid-of-water Venus. The planet, the second from the sun, is the hottest in the solar system. Its thick atmosphere holds in so much heat, and the surface is blazing enough to melt lead. But at one point, Venus might have been similar to Earth, a planet with lots of water. A new study published in Nature, found that hydrogen atoms in Venus' atmosphere, needed for water, may have escaped to space. The find, simulated with computer modeling, might ex ...read more

Though initially intended to treat diabetes, Ozempic has acquired another application in recent years. Heralded as a wildly effective weight-loss drug, it provides millions of people with obesity an alternative route for reducing their weight, albeit a financially costly one. Yet this weight-loss effect is sometimes described as simple “serendipity,” and a full understanding of how this drug works has yet to be achieved. Read More: What Factors Matter Most For Weight Loss?Ozempic Takes Away ...read more

The Great Lakes were a massive graveyard for ships lost at sea for centuries. Sailboats have slipped into storms, never to be seen again. Steamers have rocked in the waves. Even massive freighters have sunk to the sea floor.Although shipwrecks may seem like part of the Great Lakes’ past, advancing technology is helping researchers understand the weather patterns that have made so many voyages fatal. Technology is also helping scientists find sunken vessels that were once thought to be lost for ...read more

To the untrained eye, cicadas may look extremely similar to each other, characterized by their hard exoskeleton and distinctive drone.  But, as millions of residents of the southeastern and midwestern United States will soon discover in the spring of 2024, the different species of cicadas can vary widely in everything from their sound to their appearance to their behavior. Two broods of cicadas — Broods XIX and XIII — are expected to emerge from the ground, culminating their life cycle by ...read more