Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites. It is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes. Malaria can be found in most tropical and subtropical climates. But Africa is the most affected for a number of reasons. In 2021, 619,000 people died of malaria worldwide. Most were young children in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is hope. Two recently-approved vaccines may provide some protection against this deadly disease....

The health impacts of outdoor air pollution are well-known. But indoor air pollution, caused by emissions from building materials or even air fresheners, can be just as harmful. Yet, there are no widely-accepted methods to detect the toxins. But researchers at the University of Turku in Finland hope to change that with the help of tiny glowing worms....

Colossal Biosciences is on a quest to bring back extinct animal species. In the past year and a half, the company has announced plans to recreate the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger. On February 2, 2023, the Texas-based startup added the dodo bird to its de-extinction list. If successful, these efforts could open the door to a new era of biodiversity....

An international team of scientists has created a robot that seamlessly goes from a solid to a liquid state and back again. The feat may sound magical. But it is rooted in science....

Nine-year-old Molly Sampson and her 17-year-old sister Natalie had only one item on their Christmas list last year. They wanted chest-high waterproof overalls to "go shark's-tooth hunting like professionals." Their wish was granted. On Christmas morning, the sisters set out to Maryland's Calvert Beach with their father to put their new equipment to use....

Starting January 12, 2023, stargazers will get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a rare comet with a greenish hue. Astronomers discovered Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in March 2022 when it was inside Jupiter's orbit. NASA scientists believe this may be the comet's first sighting. If the icy body did pass our planet previously, it was probably thousands of years ago....

Octopuses are among the smartest animals in the ocean. The invertebrates can navigate through mazes, complete tasks in exchange for food, and even recognize human faces. Now, the clever animals have been caught throwing objects at one another. The rare behavior has previously been seen in only a few animals like chimpanzees, elephants, and birds....

With a large part of the US currently under a winter storm warning, it may appear that the chilly season is upon us. But while meteorologists consider December 1 the start of the Northern Hemisphere winter, the astronomical first day of winter is December 21....

Sky watchers are treated to over thirty meteor showers throughout the year. However, most pale in comparison to the Geminids. Nicknamed the "900-pound gorilla of meteor showers" by NASA, they outweigh other dust streams by factors of between 5 to 500! The "shooting stars" have been active since December 4 and will continue until December 17, 2022. But their best showing will be on the night of December 13 into the morning of December 14, 2022, when up to 120 meteors will be flying through the sky every hour....

The Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) was one of the most ferocious dinosaurs that roamed Earth in the very late Cretaceous period — about 66 million years ago. Over the years, scientists have collected substantial information on the tiny-armed reptile itself. However, very little is known about how the vicious predator evolved. Now paleontologists at the Badlands Dinosaur Museum in North Dakota believe they may have found an essential missing link to the T. rex's lineage....

Bumble bees have a reputation for being industrious creatures. The insects are known to spend their days collecting pollen and nectar from flowers. But a new study from the Queen Mary University of London in the UK asserts that, like humans, the bees also enjoy a little playtime....

Burmese pythons are voracious eaters. The mighty predators — which reach over 18 feet in length and 200 pounds (90.7 kg) in weight — can swallow prey as large as a deer. Researchers previously believed that the reptiles' massive heads and bodies allowed them to achieve this incredible feat. Now, a new study asserts it is the size of the python's "gape" — how wide it can open its mouth — that determines the size of animal it can swallow....

The residents of Utqiagvik, (pronounced oot-kee-AAG-vuhk) Alaska, enjoyed the last sunset of the year on November 19th. America's northernmost city will next see a sun emerge above the horizon on January 23, 2023. For those wondering, that means 64 continuous days, or 1,536 hours, of no daylight!...

On December 24, 2021, NASA's InSight lander recorded a magnitude four quake on Mars. At first, scientists had no idea what had caused the tremor. However, that changed in February 2022 when the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spotted a new crater on the Red Planet's surface. Researchers connected the dots from both missions and realized that a meteoroid had struck Mars....

The Sun is getting excited about Halloween as well! On October 26, 2022, NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) caught the fiery star sporting a cheerful "smile." However, don't be fooled by the friendly "jack-o'-lantern" look. It could trigger a mild solar storm on Earth on October 29, 2022....

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common motor disability in children. The condition, which affects about 1 in 345 children, can make daily activities like walking, eating, or even lifting a cup difficult. A team of researchers from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) hopes to alleviate the daily struggles with robotic clothing that will allow kids with cerebral palsy to better control their arm movements....

Researchers from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom have uncovered the fossil of a new mosasaur species that ruled the seas during the Cretaceous period. The ferocious marine lizard was an apex predator that thrived in the waters of Morocco at the same time T. rex was on land. The scientist named the creature Thalassotitan atrox (T. atrox) from the Greek words "Thalassa" and "titan," meaning "sea giant." The species name atrox translates to "cruel" or "merciless."...

Any 25th birthday is a cause for celebration. But it was even more so for Janus, a two-headed Greek tortoise who marked the milestone year on September 3, 2022. The resident of the Natural History Museum in Geneva, Switzerland, is now believed to be the world's oldest two-headed tortoise. The museum celebrated the special occasion with a day-long party filled with fun events, which included taking photos with the birthday "boy."...

The giant African land snail (GALS) has returned to Florida for a third time. The invasive species was first detected in the state in 1969. It took seven years and $1 million to get rid of them. The gastropods reappeared in 2011 and were eradicated in 2021 at a cost of $23 million. On June 23, 2022, Florida officials reported that the snails had been found in the New Port Richey area of Pasco County....

The Prophalangopsis obscura (P. obscura) is one of only eight remaining descendants of an ancient katydid family of over 90-known species that lived during the Jurassic period (199.6 million to 145.5 million years ago). However, there is only one known specimen of the grasshopper-like insect. It was discovered in India in the mid-1800s and later donated to London's Natural History Museum. Scientists have now digitally recreated the P. obscura's long-lost call in the hopes of locating the insects in the wild....

The carnivorous pitcher plants obtain nutrition by luring unsuspecting insects inside their unique jug-shaped leaves and devouring them. However, the brightly-colored "pitfall traps" are usually set above the ground. Now, researchers have found a new species that grows its prey-trapping contraptions underground to capture subterranean bugs like ants, mites, and beetles....

Bacteria can be found almost everywhere on Earth, from the bottom of the ocean to the inside of our intestines. However, the single-celled organisms typically measure a few micrometers and can only be seen through a microscope. Now, researchers have identified a thin, thread-like bacteria species that grows up to 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) long. Named Thiomargarita magnifica, it is the largest bacteria found to date....

Batesian mimicry — where a harmless species mimics a harmful one to escape predators — is widespread in animals. But most recorded examples of the phenomena are visual. For instance, the harmless scarlet kingsnakes have evolved to resemble a venomous species, while the flower-loving hoverflies have adopted the persona of stinging wasps. Now, for the first time, researchers have uncovered a mammal that has developed acoustic Batesian mimicry to scare away predators....

There are over 30 meteor showers annually. However, few are as spectacular as the Perseids. The "shooting stars" have been blazing through the sky at a rate of about a dozen an hour since mid-July. But the best time to watch the natural fireworks show will be between August 11 and August 12, 2022. That's when the pace of the meteors will escalate to between 50 and one hundred an hour....