Educational Science

Why Do Skulls Have So Many Bones? (It's Loads More Than You Think)

How many bones are in your skull? You might guess that animal skulls are made up of two bones: the upper region of the skull and the lower jaw. But skulls are actually far more complex — and have a lot more bones — than you may expect. Some animals...

Woman Had a Huge Tapeworm 'Egg' Encased in Her Brain. Why She's Super Happy About It.

When is it a huge relief to hear you have a parasite lurking in your brain? When it's not a cancerous brain tumor. That was the recent experience of a woman in New York, 42-year-old Rachel Palma, who had gone to the doctor's office for some odd symptoms. For example,...

On summer nights, the waters surrounding Taiwan's Matsu Islands cast an eerie blue glow. The phenomenon, known as China's blue tears, is actually caused by a bloom of tiny, bioluminescent creatures called dinoflagellates. Tourists from all over China come to view the twinkling seascape. The bloom in the East China...

'Flesh-Eating' Bacteria May Be Spreading to Beaches Once Thought Off-Limits. Here's Why.

Flesh-eating bacteria that live in the ocean may be spreading to previously unaffected beach waters thanks to climate change, according to a new report. The report authors described five cases of severe flesh-eating bacterial infections in people who were exposed to water or seafood from the Delaware Bay, which sits...

American Tourists Die Suddenly from Mysterious Illness in Fiji

A husband and wife vacationing in Fiji died within days of each other from a mysterious illness, according to news reports. The Texas couple, Michelle and David Paul, arrived in Fiji around May 22, according to NBC News. Although the Pauls were in good health before leaving, they soon began...

Is It Safe to Visit Chernobyl?

Chernobyl, site of the world's deadliest nuclear accident, is now a surprisingly popular tourist destination. But lethal radiation still permeates the landscape around the site, so why is it safe to visit at all? Ukrainian officials opened the area to tourists nearly a decade ago, declaring that visits were safe,...

Pregnant Women Who Eat More Fiber May Lower Child's Celiac Risk

Mothers who eat a high-fiber diet in pregnancy may lower the risk of celiac disease in their children, a new study suggests. The study researchers analyzed information from more than 88,000 Norwegian children and their mothers, who gave birth between 1999 and 2009. The mothers were asked about their fiber...

What Are Rock Cairns?

Rock cairns are human-made stacks, mounds or piles of rocks. They take different forms, and have been built by cultures around the world for many different purposes. Cairns may serve as monuments, burial sites, navigational aids (by land or sea), or ceremonial grounds, among other uses. They may stand alone,...

Why Does the Moon Keep Flashing Us?

There's something flashing us on the moon, and we don't know what it is. But that might be about to change. We have known about the mysterious flashes since at least the late 1960s, when the astronomers Barbara Middlehurst and Patrick Moore reviewed the scientific literature and found nearly 400...