Science

Trilobites

Unearthing fascinating morsels of science.

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Black Hole Drags Star to Dusty Death
Astronomers thought they saw an exploding star, but in fact it was a star having its guts ripped out by a black hole.
By Dennis Overbye
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Using Harpoon-Like Appendages, Bacteria ‘Fish’ for New DNA
Seeing how microbes snatch new genetic material from their environment could help in the fight against antibiotic resistance.
By Steph Yin
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This Burrowing Clam Is Not Boring. It Uses Acid to Make Its Home.
Researchers have solved the mystery of how this small species of giant clam forms its own cave inside the rock of a coral reef.
By Veronique Greenwood
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Aztec Turquoise Tiles May Solve a Mesoamerican Mystery
A recent geochemical analysis calls into question the idea of extensive contact between Mesoamerican and Southwest American cultures before the Spanish invaded.
By Nicholas St. Fleur
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Listen to the Sounds of Narwhals That Have Been Elusive to Science
As melting ice opens east Greenland to petroleum prospectors and cruises, scientists are rushing to study the noises made by a remote population of toothed whales.
By JoAnna Klein
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Do You Know What Lightning Really Looks Like?
Paintings by artists over centuries have consistently underestimated the number of root-like veins in a lightning strike, researchers found.
By Steph Yin
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This Device Helps Fish Make It Out of the Twilight Zone Alive
A portable decompression chamber helps scientists protect fish from injury when they are brought to the ocean’s surface.
By JoAnna Klein
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Stick Insects Are Easy Bird Food, and That Might Help Them Reproduce
The tough eggs carried by bugs that mimic plants may be spread by hungry birds to new locations where they hatch.
By JoAnna Klein
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Ladybugs, Aphids and the Toxic Combat That Might Be Happening in Your Garden
Some invasive ladybugs feast on other species of ladybugs, but not as much when a kind of toxic aphid is around.
By Veronique Greenwood
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Boulder-Size Clues to How Humans Settled the Americas
Scientists have discovered what they say is “direct evidence” supporting the theory that Ice Age migrants from Asia traveled down the Pacific Coast, rather than through North America’s interior.
By Nicholas St. Fleur

Black Hole Drags Star to Dusty Death

Using Harpoon-Like Appendages, Bacteria ‘Fish’ for New DNA

This Burrowing Clam Is Not Boring. It Uses Acid to Make Its Home.

Aztec Turquoise Tiles May Solve a Mesoamerican Mystery

Listen to the Sounds of Narwhals That Have Been Elusive to Science

Do You Know What Lightning Really Looks Like?

This Device Helps Fish Make It Out of the Twilight Zone Alive

Stick Insects Are Easy Bird Food, and That Might Help Them Reproduce

Ladybugs, Aphids and the Toxic Combat That Might Be Happening in Your Garden

Boulder-Size Clues to How Humans Settled the Americas