Certain ants appear to alter their nest networks to prevent epidemics, offering inspiration for disease control interventions in the human world as well.
Scientists have known for decades that many animals use the Earth's magnetic field for navigation. It's less clear how they do it. A new study suggests earthworms may be a good way to figure it out. (This story first aired on All Things Considered on October 15, 2025.)
Regina Barber and Emily Kwong of NPR's Short Wave talk about the brain benefits of quitting cigarettes, language development in premature babies, and a mysterious imprint in a Chicago sidewalk.
An amateur satellite tracker stumbled across the signal, which is coming from Starshield satellites in a "hidden" part of the radio spectrum.
Scientists have known for decades that many animals use the Earth's magnetic field for navigation. It's less clear how they do it. A new study suggests earthworms may be a good way to figure it out.
Humans can genetically modify plants and animals to be more resilient to climate change and disease. But the scientific community is divided about whether the tool should be put to use in nature.
Applied physicist Iker Zuriguel studies the movement of particles and people to optimize their flow and improve public safety.
The pachycephalosaurs were a unique group of dinosaurs with domed heads. But scientists haven't known much about them because their fossils have been so incomplete. A stunning discovery from southern Mongolia has changed that.
Fred Ramsdell was camping with his family in the Rocky Mountains when he missed the call telling him he'd won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Goodall, who died Oct. 1, became one of the most famous scientists of the 20th century for her work observing chimpanzees in the wild in East Africa. Originally broadcast in 1993 and 1999.
For the first time on record, renewable energy generated more electricity for the planet than coal, a new report says.
A Cornell University researcher has been developing an artificial heart for children for more than 20 years. Now, his research is on hold and his lab is shut down.
A cartographer, a composer, a neurobiologist, and a novelist are among the recipients of this year's "Genius Grants." Each Fellow will receive a no-strings attached award of $800,000.
Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton's crew famously survived after the Endurance became stuck in ice in 1915. A researcher says the ship was ill-equipped for the voyage and Shackleton was aware.
The Hopi Tribe received a multimillion-dollar federal grant to install solar panels and battery storage systems for hundreds of homes. But the Trump administration has canceled the funding.
Known as the mother of Colombian corals, at 70, marine biologist Elvira Alvarado is still diving — and pioneering "coral IVF" to help save endangered reefs.
Hosts of NPR's science podcast discuss new findings about long-distance fly migration, an unexpected impact of emissions in the Amazon, and fish noises.
Companies that make DNA for science labs screen out any requests for dangerous bits of genetic material. But a new study shows how AI could help malevolent actors get the stuff anyway.
Jane Goodall, a legendary primatologist whose studies of wild chimpanzees transformed our understanding of apes, died Wednesday at age 91.
Jane Goodall, primatologist who transformed our understanding of the lives of apes, has died, according to an announcement from the Jane Goodall Institute.