Life Science

An extensive study looks at personal space in 42 countries, and how weather affects preferences.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

The mass of microorganisms swarming inside your favorite elite athlete's body may be a great business opportunity.

By Amanda Onion

At least two commercial DNA testing services offer users information on heritage coming from coupling between ancient humans and other species.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Although left-handed people were thought to be "sinister" or "unnatural" in previous eras, we now know that left-handedness is natural for 10 percent of the population. And it can have some advantages over right-handedness too.

By Alia Hoyt

On the surface, Antarctica may seem like a barren landscape. But underneath, in massive ice caves, life may be abundant.

By Amanda Onion

A series of studies showed that including the word 'sorry' in a rejection actually made the rejected person feel worse.

By Alia Hoyt

We often think that if a drug has been studied by scientists and given a favorable outcome, then it must be safe and proven. But many kinds of biases can creep into a study, rendering it less than effective.

By Patrick J. Kiger

It's already a scary world. Why do we seek to experience more fear?

By Jamie Allen

A new study shows that belief in perceiving patterns correlated strongly with belief in conspiracy theories and the supernatural.

By Alia Hoyt

A groundbreaking study finds light skin pigmentation gene variations originating in Africa, eroding the notion of race as a biological characteristic, and shedding light on cancer and evolution, too.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Nearly every living cell is made of DNA, and every chromosome contains exactly one molecule of DNA. But not all cells are made of the same number of chromosomes.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Humans are a diverse lot - which is good! The question of ethnicity vs. race vs. nationality is a source of much debate, even among experts.

By John Donovan

Cell division can be confusing, but it's not as difficult if you pretend chromosomes are sentences.

By Jesslyn Shields & Austin Henderson

While plant and animal cells are strikingly similar, there are a few key differences.

By Jesslyn Shields & Austin Henderson

People who hallucinate typically see, hear, feel, smell or otherwise experience things that simply aren't real. Often, these sensory fake-outs indicate a serious medical condition.

By Alia Hoyt

Many of Sigmund Freud's well-known theories have been discredited by modern psychiatry. Does that include the Oedipus complex?

By John Donovan

These majestic trees send their roots down in pillars from branch to ground, can form a canopy over 80 feet high and can live to be 250 years old.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

When an electron loses its partner, it creates a free radical. So is that free radical now potentially hazardous to your health?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

New research shows that homo sapiens weren't the first folks to decorate their caves with artwork. Neanderthals actually did it thousands of years earlier.

By Alia Hoyt

A massive white oak in the hometown of the University of Georgia has many wondering whether a tree can even have legal rights - and about the future of the environmental and animal rights movements.

By Jamie Allen

A new year is always a good time to set new goals. We've come up with five healthy changes that have been scientifically shown to improve your well-being.

By Dave Roos

Bezoars are concretions found in the stomachs of animals that were once believed to cure poisoning and plague.

By Loraine Fick

Scientists started an experiment back in 2014 that will run for 500 years. The first results were recently published. So, what have they found so far?

By Nathan Chandler

ASMR has become a pop phenomenon and scientists are trying to figure out why some people love those tingling-inducing videos and others can't stand them.

By Nathan Chandler

For years, speculation has surrounded the government's high security animal disease research center, which is slated to close in 2023.

By Patrick J. Kiger