Aug 21 Tatooine, Vulcan and Other Incredible Planets NASA’s Kepler Found Beyond Earth Artist's rendition of the Kepler telescope. Courtesy: NASA/Kepler mission/Wendy Stenzel Last week, scientists announced that after four years of surveying a strip of the Milky Way galaxy, the Kepler Space Telescope would officially go offline, due to a… Continue reading
Aug 14 Is Poison Ivy Getting Nastier? The shiny three leaves of poison ivy. Photo by Susan Biddle/The Washington Post/Getty Images. Ahh, summertime. A long wilderness hike followed by a refreshing swim in the river followed by -- music screeches to halt -- a… Continue reading
Aug 07 12 Facts About Hellbender Salamanders By Leah Clapman List compiled by Rebecca Jacobson. Read our full Science Wednesday report. They have lungs, but they breathe completely through pores in their skin. Their name Cryptobranchus means “secret gill.” They are the third largest species of salamanders in… Continue reading
Aug 07 Rustling River Monsters for Science It takes six scientists to catch one hellbender salamander: three to lift the rock, two to hold the fishing nets, and one to dive underwater and grab the creature. Then, holding on is its own challenge, because the animals ooze… Continue reading
Jul 31 Unlocking the Secrets of a Swimmer’s Scourge, the Jellyfish Sting Updated: August 5 | On the morning of July 29, 1997, while swimming off the shore of Waikiki, a throng of box jellyfish stung Angel Yanagihara along her neck, arms and ankles. She swam back to shore… Continue reading
Jul 24 Science ‘Classroom Without Walls’ Replete with Snapping Turtles, Snakes EmbedVideo(7015, 482, 304); Eighth grade teacher Darrell Walker routinely teaches his science class in the wetlands behind their North Carolina middle school. Video by Rebecca Jacobson "Snake! Snake!" an eighth-grade student shouts from the boardwalk as she crosses… Continue reading
Jul 17 New Organisms Shine a Light on ‘Microbial Dark Matter’ Despite little light and extreme temperatures, new microorganisms were found at "Crab Spa", a hydrothermal vent site on the ocean floor, along with eight other unusual places. Photo courtesy Stefan Sievert/ Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Massive new groups… Continue reading
Jul 10 8 Things You Didn’t Know About Nikola Tesla By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy He was born in a lightning storm 158 years ago, and once shook the poop out of Mark Twain. Inventor, visionary, futurist and terrified of germs, he is...Nikola Tesla. And here are a few things you didn't know about him. Continue reading
Jul 03 Russian Rocket Explosion Releases Toxic Fuel Cloud A Proton-M rocket, carrying a Nimiq 6 communication satellite is raised to the launch pad at the Russian-leased Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome, on May 14, 2012. Photo by STR/AFP/GettyImages. After a Russian Proton-M rocket lost control, tipped over and… Continue reading
Jun 26 How Hurling Spears 2 Million Years Ago May Have Given Us a 96-mph Fastball MVP pitcher Justin Verlander is known for consistently throwing heat for the Detroit Tigers. In a study published this week, scientists learn how professional pitchers can throw with such high velocity and what this skill meant in our evolution. Continue reading