Elephants are smart. So are their whiskers.
An elephant’s trunk is a wonder of evolution. Gentle, yet dextrous, it can pick up solid items, help them communicate, and be a helpful showering tool. Inside, 1,000 whiskers give…
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NASA Moon Mission Spacesuit Nears Milestone
4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A NASA crew member practices using lunar tools to collect geology samples at NASA’s Johnson Space Center during an…
The oldest-known humpback whale recording was hiding in an archive
In 1970, a single record would change history. It wasn’t the latest album from The Who or Rolling Stones, but the musical stylings of a pod of humpback whales (Megaptera…
Human head transplants’ gory, Frankenstein-esque history
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a mad scientist creates a monstrous creature with severed body parts. In certain film adaptations, a dismembered head is tacked onto the malformed body. Then, with…
Reaching Top Speed in the Dolomites
Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory Reaching Top Speed in the… Earth Earth Observatory Image of the Day EO Explorer Topics All Topics Atmosphere Land Heat & Radiation Life on Earth…
Medieval elite still received fancy burials despite disease stigma
Wealth confers privilege, and for many people during the Middle Ages, this privilege extended into the afterlife. For centuries, rich Christians often flaunted their money by purchasing gravesites as close…
NASA Completes First Flight of Laminar Flow Scaled Wing Design
3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s Crossflow Attenuated Natural Laminar Flow (CATNLF) scale-model wing flies for the first time on a NASA F-15 research…
Yellowstone’s supervolcano is creating a 19-mile bulge
In Yellowstone National Park, a bulge the size of 279 football fields has risen by an inch since last July. With no signs of slowing down, the bump that’s roughly…
Bird poop powered this pre-Hispanic kingdom
When it comes to the success of ancient civilizations, the first things that come to mind are typically their military strength, roads, and trade. New research, however, highlights a potential…
Thomas Edison’s failed rechargeable battery may get a second life
A rechargeable battery based on technology pioneered by Thomas Edison may finally get its due. But while the famous inventor envisioned nickel-iron batteries powering the automobile industry over a century…