The national parks within the U.S. are wonders to behold. They haven’t been named “America’s Best Idea” for nothing. And while they may simply seem like places to vacation, they are much, much more than that. Beyond their pristine beauty, where you can find peace and adventure, they are home to some extraordinary species, including some animals on the endangered species list. The National Park Service (NPS) staff, including rangers and researchers, work tirelessly to ensure these animal ...read more

In one small step toward lunar commercialization, the first-ever privately funded lander touched down March 2, 2025 on the moon’s surface. The lander, named Blue Ghost, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 15, 2025, then travelled more than 2.8 million miles before safely coming to rest in a 300-mile-wide basin near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille on the moon.First-Ever Private LanderThe lander was developed by Texas company Firefly Aerospace. Its mission is ...read more

Self-driving cars, like the Volkswagen Herbie and KITT from Knight Rider, are gradually transitioning from science fiction to reality. The benefits are clear: passengers can use their commute to relax, work, or be entertained while reducing accidents caused by human error. Additionally, autonomous vehicles offer increased mobility for individuals unable to drive themselves.However, giving up control in the complex environment of road traffic requires highly advanced technology. Ongoing developme ...read more

An area of the brain called Heschl’s gyrus — long known for handling early auditory processing — plays a far greater role in interpreting speech than previously understood. It helps interpret the meaning behind subtle changes in pitch, tone, and emphasis into meaningful information, according to a recent study published in the journal Nature Communications.Scientists had long thought that deciphering those qualities — collectively known as prosody — happened in the superior temporal gy ...read more

Crewed space travel isn’t just an engineering feat. It’s a test of the endurance and resilience of the human body. In microgravity, astronauts' bodies undergo dramatic changes: muscles weaken, bones lose density, fluids shift, and vision can be affected. Beyond that, deep space exposes them to radiation, which can damage DNA and increase long-term health risks.As space agencies and private companies plan for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, understanding exactly how space travel impac ...read more

Sweetness may be contagious. A growing body of research has revealed that the type of people who have a sweet tooth may also have a sweet temperament.“According to the conceptual metaphor theory, metaphors such as ‘love is sweet’ may be more than just linguistic terms — they can build scaffolds to unconsciously guide our behavior,” says Michael Schaefer, a neuropsychologist at Medical School Berlin.A Sweet Tooth and Sweet TemperamentIn research published in 2012, Brian Meier, a psychol ...read more

Inbreeding or chlamydia? It’s an impossible situation. But it’s a situation that koalas are facing in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, where low levels of genetic diversity are threatening one of the only chlamydia-free populations of koalas that’s left.According to a new analysis in Conservation Genetics, the koalas in the southwestern suburbs of Sydney are some of the only koalas in New South Wales that are still free of chlamydia, a contagious disease that’s devastated the other koal ...read more

With a singular, long, spiraled tusk, narwhals really are the unicorns of the sea. The tusk, which is actually an elongated tooth, is mainly found in males and can grow up to 10 feet long. Many researchers believe that narwhals use the tusks in mating displays, though due to limited field observation, there is still much to learn about narwhals. A new study published in Frontiers in Marine Science used drones to monitor narwhals in the wild. With this footage, researchers may have a better unde ...read more

Animated movies can be an entertaining way to learn fascinating facts about the animal kingdom. Pixar’s 2003 classic Finding Nemo introduced many children and adults to marine biology for the first time. Among other things, it highlighted the symbiotic relationship between clownfish and their sea anemone hosts — where the anemone’s sting protects the fish from predators, and in return, the fish help keep the anemone clean.A recent study has expanded our understanding of this partnership. R ...read more

While the connection between air pollution and lung disease could appear obvious, the link between breathing in toxins and suffering memory loss looks about as clear as a cloud of cigarette smoke.Scientists at Scripps Research Institute first identified how contaminants in smog, pesticides, and other airborne chemical can affect the brain. Now they have identified a way to potentially reverse those effects, they report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Learning About Memory ...read more