A glow-in-the-dark shark that has a mouthful of pointy teeth and an impressively large bulbous nose is also quite small — about the weight of a pineapple, according to a new study.
Ocean sunfish are the world's largest bony fish, weighing up to a whopping 2,205 pounds and measuring more than 8 feet long. Now, scientists have discovered a new species of this monstrous fish hiding in plain sight.
Slime's slippery, gooey texture helps certain animals fend off predators or fight disease. It's also a lot of fun to make, as Live Science recently demonstrated.
The news may have come as a surprise, but it probably shouldn't have. A bioethics expert walks through how big a deal this announcement is – and what we should be considering now.
A nursery in the waters of New York is critical to the survival of the area's sand tiger sharks, and scientists are now tagging these and other species to learn more about their needs.
Divers have recovered the main telegraph machine from the Lusitania, the wreck at the center of one of the most infamous maritime disasters of the 20th century.
In a 2016 interview with CNN, Anthony Scaramucci — President Donald Trump's new White House communications director — said that Earth, as well as human history, is just 5,500 years old. But ample evidence exists to prove him wrong.
The charred remains of 2,500-year-old honeycombs, as well as other beekeeping artifacts, have been discovered in an Etruscan workshop in northern Italy.
Psalm 137 – best known for its opening line, 'By the Rivers of Babylon' – is a 2,500-year-old Hebrew psalm that deals with the Jewish exile -remembered each year on Tisha B'av.
Dozens of killer whales have died in captivity, including the 3-month-old orca named Kyara that just died at SeaWorld. So why do these marine mammals seem to fare so poorly?
Is alcohol good for your health or bad? With no shortage of contradictory findings, it's understandable if you're left feeling like you've had a little too much to drink.
A creepy, crawly video of tiny critters holding each other's tails and scurrying across the ground like a furry centipede has captured the internet's attention.
A farmer has discovered the remains of a dinosaur that could have passed for the ostrich-like cassowary in its day, sporting the flightless bird's head crest and long thunder thighs, indicating it could run quickly, just like its modern-day lookalike.
The notorious "Sourtoe Cocktail" — a shot of alcohol containing a dehydrated human toe — is a bizarre tradition at the Downtown Hotel's Sourdough Saloon, in Dawson City, Yukon Territory.
The $100 million Breakthrough Starshot initiative has achieved what might prove to be a "Sputnik moment" in successfully lofting its first spacecraft — the smallest ever launched and operated in orbit.
The mystery of Prince Rupert's drops, which are tadpole-shaped glass confections that can resist a hammer blow to the head but also shatter with slightest pressure on the tail, has finally been solved.
The fantastical "Game of Thrones" world is now on Google Earth, with 33 locations — including medieval castles, maze-like gardens and rocky ports — showing exactly where key scenes were filmed.
The HBO hit show "Game of Thrones" takes place in a world of fantasy, but dozens of the scenes were filmed at real medieval castles and in wild forests and craggy mountainsides across Europe and Iceland.
Love to play stretchy taffy-like substances? Or are you inside on a rainy day with a hankering for getting your hands messy? Here's a recipe for making puffy, fluffy slime for you and your kids.
Hurricanes swirling in the Pacific Ocean could lock arms in a dance step meteorologists call the Fujiwhara effect. The do-si-do may lead in Hurricane Hilary cannibalizing Irwin.
Falling asleep — sounds simple, right? But for people who struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep through the night, or for those who can't stop hitting the snooze button in the morning, getting good sleep can feel pretty complicated.
The catchphrase "bazinga" — a zinger commonly uttered by Dr. Sheldon Cooper, a fictional theoretical physicist on the TV show "The Big Bang Theory" — has inspired the creation of a novel compound.
What's in your drinking water? Whether you're wondering if your water is safe or just what that weird smell is, a new tool is now available that could help.
A study of the brains of more than 200 deceased football players — including 111 who played in the National Football League (NFL) — reveals that nearly 90 percent of the players had a brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
A protein that helps make human spit slimy reveals signs that the ancestors of modern humans interbred with an extinct human lineage that was an even more distant relation than Neanderthals.
Researchers used complex 3D nanostructures to produce holograms with the rich colors and bright display that may one day make sophisticated holograms an everyday reality.
In 1537, a bookbinder used a piece of parchment — one that was centuries old —to bind a book of poetry. This parchment's text remained unreadable for nearly 500 years, but now people can read its words once more, according to a new study.
Deduction starts out with a generalization that follows a process to reach a specific, logical conclusion. Induction is the opposite - making a generalization from a set of specific observations.
A child in South Africa who was born with HIV has been virtually free of the virus for nearly nine years now and didn't take anti-HIV drugs for most of that time.
It may come as no surprise that Michael Phelps didn't zoom past a great white shark in a "Shark Week" event that aired last night (July 23), but he did manage to beat a reef shark.
The coast-to-coast total solar eclipse on Aug. 21 will be memorable for children and adults alike, and a new website will help kids get interested in the big event and view it safely.
Two huge, Apollo-era NASA computers and more than 300 data-recording tapes were found in the basement of a dead engineer in late 2015, according to media reports.
Evolution has been occurring for billions of years, producing organisms that are perfectly adapted to their environments. And this includes abilities that we would normally consider superpowers if humans were to have them.
From the story of Jewish people fleeing Egypt in the Book of Exodus to the tale of Israelis taking of the city of Jericho, here's a look at conflicts detailed in the bible.
The total solar eclipse is coming across the United States on Aug. 21; early Sunday morning (July 23) marks the first new moon before the dramatic event.
It's hard to imagine how Olympic-gold-medal swimmer Michael Phelps could win in a race against a great white shark, but the Discovery Channel is giving him every advantage in the book.
During a race with a great white shark, decorated athlete Michael Phelps will sport a special monofin that should mimic a shark's tail. But how much will it help?
As the Discovery Channel and National Geographic Wild unleash a week of dueling shark programs, a biologist advises viewers to take what they see with a large grain of sea salt.
Why is it that when you're tremendously hungry, you're able to forget about it if you're in the middle of an intriguing activity, such as reading a good book?
Washing down your bacon cheeseburger with a big, cold soda may trigger the body to store more fat than it would if you drank something without sugar, a new small study finds.
Two doctors claim to have used controversial oxygen treatments to reverse brain damage in a 2-year-old, but other experts are very skeptical of the claim.
Citrus trees — including lemon, orange, lime and pomelo trees — are native to Southeast Asia, so how on Earth did they end up in the ancient Mediterranean?
There are lot of options for cooking oils these days. But which are really the healthiest? We talked to nutrition experts and took a deep look at what's in these oils. Here's what we found.
The iconic smiley face may seem like a modern squiggle, but the discovery of a smiley face-like painting on an ancient piece of pottery suggests that it may be much older.
Today, scientists will break ground on a huge underground neutrino laboratory that they hope will reveal something about the rules that govern the universe.
The 6-year-old son of Cecil the Lion was shot and killed on July 7 just outside Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, meeting the same end his father did in 2015.
Grab that iced tea — much of the U.S. has had a hot summer so far, and it's only going to get hotter, according to a report released today (July 20) by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Elon Musk recently announced on Twitter that he had received "verbal government approval" for his Boring Company to build a superfast Hyperloop transit system that would take people from New York to Washington, D.C., in just under 30 minutes.
A 9-year-old boy hiking in the Las Cruces desert in New Mexico recently tripped over what is now thought to be a 1.2-million-year-old Stegomastodon skull.
The discovery of sediment layers in a seaside cave represents the longest record of tsunamis in the Indian Ocean, and the clearest record of tsunamis anywhere in the world.
Rising global temperatures are melting areas of permafrost that hold enormous stores of planet warming gases — but the risk of a doomsday methane bomb remains low.
Scientists once thought that sleep was a time when a person's brain and body shut down for the night. But now, researchers know that sleep is a highly active time.
Selenium supplements are taken by people who want to prevent cancer, heart disease, memory loss and diabetes. But does taking selenium work? Here's a look at what the science says.
Women may have another reason to eat healthy and exercise during pregnancy: These behaviors may lower their odds of having a cesarean section, a new meta-analysis finds.
A newborn baby in Iowa died this week from an infection with the virus that causes cold sores, which she likely contracted from a kiss, her doctors say.
On July 19, 1799, the now-famous basalt tablet called the Rosetta Stone was discovered. The tablet has a weird and wild history and helped decipher masses of texts written in Egyptian hieroglyphs.
In a surreal development almost worthy of one of his paintings, Salvador DalÃ's grave is scheduled to be opened in an effort to collect DNA samples that could settle a paternity claim against the artist's estate.
Instead of just sending humans on a one-shot mission to look for life on the surface, a new paper envisions a future outpost on Titan that could generate power for years.
A new type of 3D computer chip that combines two cutting-edge nanotechnologies could dramatically increase the speed and energy efficiency of processors, a new study finds.
People with Alzheimer's disease may have higher levels of bacteria in their brains compared to people without the condition, a small new study suggests.
The moon will pass directly between the sun and the Earth on Monday, Aug. 21, causing a total solar eclipse. If you want to see it happen, learn how to build a simple eclipse viewer out of a shoe box.
Space watchers have seen footballs, mini-soccer balls and water balls float through the International Space Station — but never a drone ball. New footage of a Japanese robot on YouTube shows it hovering and skittering around the Destiny laboratory.
On the two-year anniversary of the New Horizons probe's flyby of Pluto, mission scientists unveiled two detailed global maps of the dwarf planet and its largest moon, Charon.
Eating a plant-based diet is good for your health — but some plant-based diets are better than others, a new study that spanned nearly three decades finds.
This little polychaete has a bulbous, extendable throat bearing rows of teeth and a ring of bristles around its body that it uses for crawling on the seafloor and swimming in the Antarctic Ocean.
About 71 million years ago, a feathered dinosaur that was too big to fly rambled through parts of North America, likely using its serrated teeth to gobble down meat and veggies, a new study finds.
Carbohydrates — one of the basic food groups — are the sugars, starches and fibers found in fruits, grains, vegetables and milk products. They are important to a healthy life.
While many people take the existence of dark matter for granted, it's still a theory that has yet to be proven. But new evidence could bolster support for dark matter theories.
The federal government outlaws marijuana, but many states are legalizing it. Coupled with the growing number of cannabis-related patents, the potential for court battles is dizzying.
A new type of cancer treatment that involves altering a person's genes passed a major hurdle this week, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel recommended that the agency approve the therapy, the New York Times reported.
Chinese scientists have just shattered a record in teleportation. They sent the quantum state of a photon from the ground in Tibet to a satellite in orbit, 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) above the Earth's surface.
Lions and leopards normally don't get along, but one wild lioness — recently spotted nursing a leopard cub in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Conservation Area — apparently didn't get that memo.
Eight sunken ships have been found around Fourni, a cluster of Greek islands that's a hotspot for wrecks, a team of underwater archaeologists announced.
A highway in Oregon was recently closed when a crate filled with slime eels overturned on the highway, releasing tons of gooey slime. But what exactly are those creatures, and why do they produce the slime?
In a recent court hearing, the parents of Charlie Gard were at odds with their son's hospital over a seemly straightforward fact: The size of their baby's head.
If you're going to challenge someone to a water gun fight this summer, it's best you don't take up arms against Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer who has created the world's largest Super Soaker.
Tardigrades, often called water bears or moss piglets, are near-microscopic animals that are almost indestructible and can even survive in outer space.
The eight-legged micro-animal called a tardigrade could survive nearly all the way until the death of the sun, a new study suggests — long after humans are history.
Multiple NASA satellites have captured images of the dramatic and long-awaited birth of one of the largest icebergs ever recorded, which broke off an Antarctic ice shelf this week.
On Monday night (July 10), NASA's Juno spacecraft zoomed just 5,600 miles (9,000 kilometers) above the Great Red Spot's cloud tops — closer than any probe had gotten before. The images Juno took that night have now come down to Earth.
A teeny-tiny fossilized bird skeleton is helping researchers understand the explosive rate at which birds diversified after the dinosaur age, new research shows.
Here's a look at ancient stone tombs, some made of towering, flattened rocks, that have been discovered in a desert in Jordan that is so desolate an explorer once called it the land of "dead fire."
Hundreds of ancient stone tombs, some made with towering, flattened rocks, have been discovered in Jebel Qurma, a desert region in Jordan that is so desolate that one early explorer called it a land of "dead fire."
The calving of a massive iceberg from Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf progressed rapidly in recent months, growing from a crack that first appeared in 2010.
Like other well-to-do New Yorkers in the late 1700s, Alexander Hamilton and his family moved to Harlem Heights in Upper Manhattan, a rural area with cool breezes that also provided an escape from the yellow fever threat in Lower Manhattan.
Cambridge researchers have developed a non-toxic method for producing ultra-thin — and very strong — fiber for use in traditional clothing, medical devices, and even shrapnel-resistant military apparel.
One of the largest icebergs ever recorded, packing about a trillion tons of ice or enough to fill up two Lake Eries, has just split off from Antarctica, in a much anticipated, though not celebrated, calving event.
A human-caused mass extinction is underway, threatening the foundations of civilization, researchers argue in a study of the planet's declining biodiversity.
Fire ants can build miniature look-alikes of the Eiffel Tower from their own bodies, and the insects perpetually rebuild the structures to save them from collapsing, a new study finds.
Camels are mammals with long legs, a big-lipped snout and a humped back. There are two types of camels: dromedary camels, which have one hump, and Bactrian camels, which have two humps.
The balmy days of summer provide plenty of opportunity for adventure, but the season also brings with it a number of health woes, from sunburns to insect bites.
The southern lights appear to dance on the horizon off the southern coast of Australia in a stunning new photo taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station.
The photo book “Big Pacific,” companion to the five-part PBS series, showcases the stunning marine life living in the Pacific Ocean, and highlights the conservation challenges they face.
In a new experiment, researchers have created a super-dense version of ice found deep within icy moons and colliding comets, and watched it form in nanoseconds.
For those who want the force to be with them, a ton of Star Wars-themed deals are being offered today, from a Yoda-shaped alarm clock to a Bantha costume for Fido.
The more than 3,861 square miles of the giant Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia provides salt to locals, lithium for the world's batteries and even technical help for satellite radar altimeters.
For hundreds of years in the southwestern deserts of the United States, Native American potters have searched for the finest of clay soils and fashioned to create beautiful ceramic items.
DNA in a fossil from a young girl has revealed that a mysterious extinct human lineage occupied Asia longer than previously thought, allowing more potential interbreeding with Neanderthals.
The face of a man who died in England around 4,500 years ago has been reconstructed, revealing a "striking" image that should help humans alive today feel a personal connection.
For decades, parents have fretted over 'screen time,' limiting the hours their children spend looking at a screen. But as times change, so does media... and how parents should (or shouldn't) regulate it.
The planet Uranus just keeps getting weirder. The icy gas world that strangely orbits the sun on its side may also have a wonky magnetic field that constantly flickers on and off, new research suggests.
It's A-OK that Vice President Mike Pence touched a piece of titanium equipment destined for outer space, despite a sign on it that stated, "Critical Space Flight Hardware, Do Not Touch," NASA said.
A newly identified wolf spider looks so much like Aragog, the giant, fictional spider from the "Harry Potter" series, that the creature is being named after the colossal arachnid, a new study reports.
A new "snortable" chocolate product is being marketed as a drug-free way to feel energized. But some health experts are wary of the potential health effects.
This weekend, National Geographic is unveiling a live nature feature that will show viewers dozens of wild animals — including bats, bull sharks and leaf-eating monkeys — in real time as these creatures endure in their quest for survival.
National Geographic invites you to fly with Mexican free-tailed bats, swim with bull sharks and roost with leaf-eating monkeys, all from the comfort of your couch.
The liquid-hydrocarbon lakes on Titan are incredibly calm, suggesting that future missions to the huge Saturn moon could enjoy a smooth ride to the surface.
Motion-sensing tech used by gamers — the Kinect — helped scientists conduct serious research, when they used it to scan and 3D-model the skull of a T. rex.
Specialty prescription drugs are responsible for countless medical miracles, but their high price tag is the main reason health care costs are out of control.
The world's largest atom smasher, the large hadron collider, has uncovered a long-predicted type of heavy particle, known as the Xi-cc, which is made up of two charm quarks.
Sculpted into cliffs thousands of years ago, the massive stone city of Petra endures as a monument to what was once a thriving civilization in Jordan's distant past.
Solar and lunar eclipses have sometimes played quite a remarkable role in human history. From foretelling evil omens to inspiring early works of science fiction, here are 11 of the most curious stories about eclipses.
A newly found back-and-white photo taken on the Marshall Islands may help solve the mystery of Amelia Earhart's disappearance, but not everyone is convinced that the famous aviator is in the photo.
Hobby Lobby bought thousands of objects, including cuneiform tablets and and clay stamp seals, that were smuggled out of Iraq, according to federal authorities.
A secret passageway discovered near the Pyramid of the Moon in the ancient city of Teotihuacan may have been a way for the people there to emulate the underworld, archaeologists said.
During next month's solar eclipse, you may be tempted to gaze directly at the sun, but you absolutely should not do this without the proper eye protection.
Charlie Gard has a rare genetic condition that usually results in death in the first few months of life. Here's why the condition has such devastating effects on the body.
Summers around the world are already warmer than they used to be, and they’re going to get dramatically hotter by century’s end if carbon pollution continues to rise.
Stephen Hawking recently described a runaway climate scenario in which Earth turns into a hothouse planet like Venus, but most climate experts say it is a gross exaggeration.
Whether they're swooping in to deliver packages or spotting victims in disaster zones, swarms of flying robots could have a range of important applications in the future.
A tech startup on a mission to make modern commercial and housing estates energy neutral has outfitted the headquarters of a Dutch bank with the world's first commercial, fully transparent solar-power-generating windows.
The gene-editing tool CRISPR is fast becoming known for its potential to treat disease, but it also has other possible capabilities, such as the ability to screen people for viruses.
Energy from the sun's rays can cause skin damage and cancers. Sunscreens can absorb or reflect the dangerous UV light. Here's everything you need to know to read the labels in the sunscreen aisle.
Re-growing lost organs or body parts is beyond the scope of human biology. But in recent years, scientists have successfully cultivated a range of miniature organs and human body parts in laboratories.
For school-aged youth, access to a gun can increase their risk for becoming a victim of or for committing a violent crime, including suicide and homicide.