Horses pranced around the western hemisphere until they went extinct in the late Holocene. They were reintroduced by European colonists — though where, when, and how has remained unclear.

There’s an extremely good chance that there is, or at least was, life on Mars. But is it native to Mars, or did it originate from Earth?

Heart muscle is shaped like a spiral, a mystery that has eluded scientists since 1669. New research has recreated the structure.

While becoming a monk is an evolutionary dead end for the individual, celibacy reaps benefits for the group as a whole.

It’s simple to make, easy to use, and should work against any variant.

Uploading your mind is not a pathway to immortality. Instead, it will create a possibly hostile digital doppelgänger.

Rare and costly paints have shaped art history in unforeseen ways. Mummy brown caused one artist to bury his paint.

Not too hot, not too cold…

Let’s hope that squid don’t evolve lungs and legs, or humanity might be in real trouble.

A two-dimensional material made entirely of carbon called graphene won the Nobel Prize in 2010. Graphyne might be even better.

In all the Universe, only a few particles are eternally stable. The photon, the quantum of light, has an infinite lifetime. Or does it?

What we call “basic research” is actually the most cutting-edge. It underpins knowledge, and without it, technology does not come into being.

Moral panics about the content of children’s cartoons and other forms of entertainment have a long history.

Scientific journals, which are supposed to be the sacred scriptures of academia, are often full of shoddy research and misinformation.

Dark matter has never been directly detected, but the astronomical evidence for its existence is overwhelming. Here’s what to know.

For decades people have arranged to freeze their bodies after death, dreaming of resurrection by advanced future medicine. Many met a fate far grislier than death.

The answer is both disappointing and exciting.

The first human that isn’t an Earthling could be in our lifetime.

Atheists are not immune from supernatural thinking.

With a telescope at just the right distance from the Sun, we could use its gravity to enhance and magnify a potentially inhabited planet.

“You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it.”

This is a great improvement over the typical brew time of 12 to 18 hours.

“This fourth wave will be worse than it’s ever been before.”

We only detected our very first gravitational wave in 2015. Over the next two decades, we’ll have thousands more.

In paint form, the world’s “whitest white” reflects so much light that surfaces become cooler than the surrounding air.

The “End of Days” defines how we see time.

When it comes to vetting people for friendship, body odor seems to be a decisive factor.

Long before Christopher and Magellan, ancient explorers voyaged into the unknown and brought home extraordinary tales.

New research shows that having an attitude of gratitude is key to healthy relationships, and it can virally impact society.

We knew we’d find galaxies unlike any seen before in its first deep-field image. But the other images hold secrets even more profound.