Scientists Solved the Mystery of Where Potatoes Actually Came From
A new genetic study reveals that potatoes were born from an ancient hybridization event between the ancestors of tomatoes and a lesser-known South American plant group — and it happened nearly 9 million years ago.
Rice Does Something Weird Under Pressure, and Scientists Built a Smart Material From It
Scientists found that rice grains get weaker when hit fast and stronger when pressed slowly — the opposite of most materials. Now they've used that quirk to engineer a material that adapts on its own.
Scientists Engineered a Giant Fire Whirl to Fight Oil Spills — and It Actually Works
A Texas A&M research team built a controlled 17-foot fire tornado and discovered it burns oil nearly twice as fast as traditional methods, with far less pollution. Could spinning fire be the future of ocean cleanup?
Ancient Giant Scorpion Hiding in a Museum for 150 Years Turns Out to Be Earth's Biggest
A fossil stored in London's Natural History Museum for over 150 years has been confirmed as the largest scorpion ever to walk the Earth — and it was nearly three feet long.
Jian changmaensis: The Four-Winged Dinosaur That May Have Hunted Ancient Birds Like a Gliding Predator
Scientists have identified a new dinosaur species related to Velociraptor that likely used four feathered limbs to glide — and it may be the long-sought predator behind mysterious crushed bird-bone clusters found in China.
Scientists Found a 100-Million-Year-Old Bug With Claws Like a Crab
Trapped in ancient amber from the age of dinosaurs, a newly discovered insect had crab-like grasping claws found in no living bug today — and its scientific name honors a famous K-pop group.
Mosquitoes Can Be Trained to Treat DEET as an Invitation to Bite
A new study shows that mosquitoes can learn to associate DEET bug spray with a meal, turning one of our best repellents into something that actually attracts them. Scientists say DEET still works, but how we use it matters more than we thought.
The Biggest Dinosaur Ever Lived — So Why Can't Scientists Agree on Which One It Was?
Dinosaurs like Patagotitan and Nagatitan were almost impossibly huge, but figuring out which one truly takes the crown is a surprisingly difficult puzzle involving floods, scavengers, and missing bones.
Scientists Scan a 380-Million-Year-Old Fish Skull and Find Clues to How Life First Left the Water
A rare fossil fish from Antarctica is giving researchers a detailed look at the brains and body features that helped ancient creatures make the leap from water to land.
Scientists Found an Ancient Crocodile Relative That Walked on Two Legs and Had a Beak
A newly discovered Triassic creature called Labrujasuchus expectatus belonged to the crocodile family tree but looked more like a bird-mimic dinosaur. The find fills a long-predicted gap in the fossil record and reveals just how wild prehistoric evolution could get.
Household Dishwashing Sponges Are Quietly Releasing Microplastics — Here Is What the Science Says
A new study found that kitchen sponges shed measurable amounts of microplastics during everyday use, but the research also uncovered a surprising finding about what actually causes the most environmental damage when you wash dishes.
This Solar-Powered Device Pulls Drinking Water From the Ocean — Without Creating Harmful Waste
Scientists engineered laser-textured metal panels that use sunlight to desalinate seawater, skip the toxic byproducts, and even recover valuable minerals like lithium.