Life Science

While researchers can't say from this small study whether hairy men are inherently germier than the rest of the human race, the results are startling.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Poison sumac is even more toxic than its cousins, poison ivy and poison oak, in its ability to cause allergic reactions and respiratory problems.

By Alia Hoyt

Maybe. A study that wasn't even about kissing turned out to (sort of) give the answer.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

The flightless Aldabra rail lives exclusively on the Aldabra Atoll in Madagascar. But it appears to have descended from birds that soar.

By Mark Mancini

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

Ever had a "woulda, shoulda, coulda" feeling about something? It's called regret. What really triggers this emotion - and can we trust it?

By Dave Roos

Horseshoe crabs have blue blood that can detect toxins, a rare ability that's threatening their survival.

By Loraine Fick

It's not just your imagination - people feel freer to bail out on others at the last minute than they used to. But why?

By Danielle Douez

Scientists have found that ancient fossilized chlorophyll was dark red and purple in its concentrated form, which means that when diluted by water or soil, it would have lent a pink cast to earth and sea.

By Laurie L. Dove

Is your first memory of lying in a crib? You may want to revisit that. A new large study found that nearly 40 percent of participants had a first memory that was improbably early.

By Alia Hoyt

What happens when twins are reunited decades later? And how in the world can you explain separated twins giving their firstborn son or their family dog the same exact name?

By John Donovan

Roller coaster junkies rejoice: Riding these coasters could be a safe way to deal with your addiction to endorphins.

By Alia Hoyt

A strange, but surprisingly accurate, ancient Egyptian pregnancy test survived for millennia and was spread around Africa and Europe because it was just that effective.

By Jesslyn Shields

The noises that others make - be it walking, chewing or breathing heavily - are very noticeable to us. Yet we seldom hear it in ourselves. Why is that?

By Alia Hoyt

A new study shows that IQ levels have been falling since 1975, reversing a 20th-century trend.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Ever walked from your kitchen to the living room to find your phone and then forgotten what you were looking for once you got there? Researchers think your brain is hard-wired to undergo precisely that process of forgetting.

By Nathan Chandler

Researchers say that Otzi, the ancient man found in the Alps in 1991, lived on a diet loaded with fat to maintain warmth and energy in his cold, high-altitude environment.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Bacteria are both friend and foe to humanity. They cause and cure health problems, make rotting food stink and give sourdough its delicious taste. Find out how these countless tiny microbes accomplish all of this and more.

By Marianne Spoon

Have you ever met someone with a unique first name, and then all of a sudden you hear the name everywhere you turn? That's the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon at work. How did it get that handle?

By Kate Kershner & Austin Henderson

Are you a person who likes to be social but also values some alone time? You are? How did we guess without knowing you? Welcome to the Barnum effect.

By Kate Kershner