In the public’s mind, Benjamin Franklin’s scientific work has largely been reduced to this one experiment, in which Franklin demonstrated that discharges from thunderstorms are electric in nature (SN: ...

Orcas’ physiology should hamper their ability to catch whale sharks. “They have lungs,” says Pancaldi. The whale shark, with gills, can do infinite lurks and dive 2,000 meters deep, while its mammal ...

In the new study, researchers compared digital 3-D models of ancient hominid footprints and trackways to those made by people today — including Kenyan herders who rarely or never wear shoes — ...

In How to Kill an Asteroid, Robin George Andrews looks at the successes and shortcomings of planetary defense.

Kidney cells can make memories too. At least, in a molecular sense. Neurons have historically been the cell most associated with memory. But far outside the brain, kidney cells can also store ...

A new study shows a steep drop in cervical cancer deaths among the first cohort of women who were eligible for the HPV vaccine.

Molecular stress brought on by diabetes, fatty liver disease and other chronic conditions can all cause proteins to put on the brakes. Instead of zipping around the cell and bumping into each other to ...

Margaret S. Collins, the first Black American female entomologist to earn a Ph.D., overcame sexism and racism to become a termite expert.

Cave-ins and floods may have buried the Cretaceous creatures of the fossil Jehol Biota rather than volcanic eruptions, a new study claims.

Infectious diseases are often labeled “urban” or “rural.” Applying political labels to public health misses who is at risk, experts argue.

If we learned anything from 2024, it’s that climate change is rapidly reshaping our world. We’re on course to set the hottest year on record. In just the past few months, supercharged ...