Dangerous dirt: Why the animal world is obsessed with staying clean
Going without a shower for a few days might make you feel gross, but for small animals like bees and houseflies, keeping clean is a matter of life or death....
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What elephants can teach scientists about fighting cancer in humans
You've heard that elephants never forget, but did you know they almost never get cancer either? It turns out just 4.8% of known elephant deaths are related to cancer. For...
Your scientific guide to Sunday’s supermoon lunar eclipse
There's a supermoon lunar eclipse coming Sunday night, and it will be one of the coolest and most accessible sky-watching events of the year. A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth's...
Man arrested in unprovoked attack of 83-year-old man in California
Authorities in Orange County have arrested a man suspected of beating and critically injuring an 83-year-old man out for a walk in Little Saigon. Santa Ana police said 29-year-old Demarrea...
‘Leap second’: Why June 30 will have one extra second
On June 30, the world will receive a gift of time: a single, extra second known as a "leap second." At that moment, the official atomic clocks that keep Universal...
How hand-washing dishes may prevent kids from getting allergies
Moms and dads -- grab a sponge and step away from the dishwasher. A new study suggests that hand-washing dishes (and leaving some microbes on a fork, bowl, or plate...
‘Punk rock’ snail named for the Clash’s Joe Strummer
Scientists have named a spiky shelled, deep-sea snail after Joe Strummer, the late lead vocalist and guitarist from the famed British punk band the Clash. The researchers say the name...
Summer of 2014 hottest on record, officially
If the summer of 2014 felt unusually warm to you, you were right -- at least on a global level. From June through August of 2014, the average temperature of...
NASA braces Mars orbiters for comet’s close encounter
They are literally specks of dust, tiny bits of primordial material that wouldn't be visible to the naked eye. But for spacecraft in orbit around Mars, they could become minuscule...
NASA closer than ever to finding life beyond Earth
If you believe there must be extraterrestrial life somewhere in the immensity of the universe, here's some good news: Top NASA scientists agree with you, and at a panel discussion...