Science Visualized
- Animals
These award-winning photographs capture rarely seen wildlife and landscapes
Winners of the California Academy of Sciences’ annual photo contest dove deep underwater and hiked to great heights to create these striking images.
- Life
See beautiful fossils from top Cambrian sites around the world
Troves of Cambrian fossils are known at more than 50 places around the world. Here are five standout spots.
- Earth
Warm, dry winds may be straining Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf
Wind-induced melting that occurred during the Antarctic autumn may be accelerating the Larsen C ice shelf’s collapse, which could raise sea levels.
- Health & Medicine
U.S. fentanyl deaths are rising fastest among African-Americans
New statistics on fentanyl-related overdoses show troubling increases in deaths among African-Americans, Hispanics and men.
- Physics
How droplets of oil or water can glow vibrant colors
Viewed from various angles, tiny droplets of water or oil glow different colors under white light.
- Chemistry
Here’s how long the periodic table’s unstable elements last
Most elements on the periodic table have at least one stable form. But some don’t. Here’s how long those unstable members endure.
- Life
Physics explains how pollen gets its stunning diversity of shapes
These pollen patterns can all be explained by one simple trick of physics: phase separation.
- Plants
How light-farming chloroplasts morph into defensive warriors
Researchers now know which protein triggers light-harvesting plant chloroplasts to turn into cell defenders when a pathogen attacks.
- Animals
This honeybee parasite may be more of a fat stealer than a bloodsucker
Inventing decoy bee larvae prompts a back-to-basics rethink of a mite ominously named Varroa destructor.
- Paleontology
Pterosaurs may have been covered in fur and primitive feathers
A new study provides evidence of plumelike structures in ancient flying reptiles.
- Earth
Erosion has erased most of Earth’s impact craters. Here are the survivors
Earth’s largest known impact crater measures 160 kilometers in diameter. The newest, yet to be confirmed, stretches a still-whopping 31 kilometers.
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s moon Dione has stripes like no others in the solar system
Icy moon Dione has long, thin, bright lines at its equator that run surprisingly parallel to each other for tens to hundreds of kilometers.
