Life Science

Yep, fungi are all around us — in the grocery store, in the woods or living on your discolored toenail. And fungi can break down almost anything.

By Jesslyn Shields

For what looks like a big old lump of putty, the human brain is a truly incredible thing. Think of it as the body's Mission Control Center. Find out how much of a brainiac you are with our quiz.

By Alia Hoyt

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

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

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

At least not in nature. Scientists have discovered the two gene families that play key roles in making fruits and vegetables either round or long. Could a square fruit be on the horizon?

By Dave Roos

While plant and animal cells are strikingly similar, the main difference between them is that plant cells are able to create their own food and animal cells cannot.

By Jesslyn Shields

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

By Jesslyn Shields

Humans are a diverse lot. We can look distinctively different. But is that because of race or ethnicity?

By John Donovan

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

Before the widespread use of DNA, establishing the paternity of a child was a tricky business. Ever heard of the oscillophore?

By Dave Roos

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

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

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

A new global report says 1 million species are at risk of extinction — the greatest number in human history.

By Jonathan Strickland

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

It's easy to equate "Caucasian" with "white." But that one word — Caucasian — touches on issues much deeper than skin color.

By John Donovan

Does everyone have a double out there somewhere that they don't know about? Science says the odds are pretty slim.

By Alia Hoyt

This stunning sight is totally natural and totally cool.

By Tara Yarlagadda

Researchers from Penn State University College of Medicine suggest that a shared circuit in the brain could be one reason why heavy drinking and high-fat 'junk food' cravings go hand in hand.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Amanita phalloides is non-native to the North American continent, introduced to California from Europe, and rapidly spreading.

By Tara Yarlagadda

The study found no long-lasting differences in the DNA of the two Kelly brothers after one year space.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Scientists are banking frozen DNA in the hope of saving endangered animals in the future.

By Jesslyn Shields

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