Innovation

The heyday for Morse code is primarily over, but this communication method using dots and dashes still has its place in our digital world.

By Mark Mancini

A drone with some petri dishes attached is making research much less stressful for whales and scientists alike.

By Jesslyn Shields

They're instantly recognizable - mostly for their color. We're talking about yellow legal pads. So who decided they'd be yellow, anyway?

By Meg Sparwath

Algae represents big money to some investors and could provide protein to help solve the problem of world hunger.

By Stell Simonton

Salt is something most of us use without thinking about it. But with so many options available, how do we know what's best?

By Shaun Chavis

You've seen them. Those iconic, mesmerizing liquid sculptures that dance inside a glass bottle, casting a warm and nostalgic glow. Yes, we're talking about the lava lamp. But, how do lava lamps work?

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors & Austin Henderson

In her legendary 60-year career, Jane Goodall has made being an intrepid scientist, environmentalist, writer and teacher look easy.

By Jesslyn Shields

Beer is quickly becoming a trendy mixer for more adventurous cocktail drinkers. However, this acidic ingredient doesn't always play well with others. Why can't beer and milk just get along?

By Laurie L. Dove

The age of a beer can dramatically influence its flavor, and usually not for the better. But what about its alcohol content? Does a decade-old barley pop still pack the same wallop as one bottled the week before?

By Laurie L. Dove

A quickly poured beer or soda can create a layer of foam -- also known as a "head" -- toward the top of the glass. But while a soda head rapidly disappears, a beer head lingers even after you've begun to drink the beer. How can this be possible?

By Laurie L. Dove

Few would argue that lab rats lead an easy life. Add to it the assertion that they are prone to cancer just by being lab rats, and we've found a whole new level of depressing. But is it true?

By Kate Kershner

Rats! They're just like family. Evolutionarily, anyway. So when it comes to research and biomedical study, what can they do for us?

By Kate Kershner

The Stanford Prison Experiment is one of the most well-known psychological studies, infamous for the participants' cruel behavior. But the whole story of the study is much more complex.

By Ed Grabianowski

Paper airplanes are much more than child's play.

By Laurie L. Dove

Researchers develop a gadget that lets winemakers hasten the fermentation process, experiment more.

By Kathryn Whitbourne

In 1915, the great physicist predicted the existence of ripples in space-time called gravitational waves. A century later, scientists finally have detected them on Earth.

By Patrick J. Kiger

After surveying thousands of published genetics papers, researchers found nearly one-fifth had errors caused by Microsoft Excel in their supplementary files. Uh-oh.

By Jonathan Strickland

Ever wonder what's happening as your hair changes color? Permanent hair dyes physically and chemically change each hair, whether it's mermaid blue or bleach blonde.

By Laurie L. Dove

Like any quality-control system, peer review was designed to scrutinize all new scientific discoveries, ideas and implications. So how does flawed research still slip through the system of checks and balances?

By William Harris

Newton's iconic laws of motion are at work all around you, whether you're watching an Olympic swimmer push off a pool wall or a batter hit a baseball. So what are they?

By William Harris

Right now, you may be sitting on a chair or walking on a rug made of some type of fabric. Hopefully, you're wearing fabric in the form of clothes! But fabric is easily damaged. So what if there were a super fabric out there that stayed intact?

By Jessika Toothman

He had patents and pigeons galore. His role in history books could be more. So come ye science fans, and read up on your Tesla facts, myths and lore.

By Nicholas Gerbis

Although many still remember Nikola Tesla, his name doesn't carry the weight it once did during his famous battles with Thomas Edison. What was this eccentric genius like?

By John Kelly

James Watt's steam engine propelled the world forward. Learn about the Watt steam engine's impact and the innovations that helped make it possible.

By Yara Simón