Astronomers Grapple with JWST’s Discovery of Early Galaxies

Anatomy

Here’s How a Python Jaw Can Fit a Whole Deer

This python’s jaw has a stretchy secret to gape impressively wide

Bethany Brookshire

Animals

6 Weird and Wild Animal Behaviors Revealed in 2022

Octopus outbursts, evading sexual cannibalism, and a human-cockatoo arms race—here are strange animal behaviors we learned about in 2022

Andrea Thompson

Ecology

Global Population Growth Is Slowing Down. Here’s One Reason Why

In 2022 the world’s population hit the eight-billion mark. But such milestones could top out by the end of the century

Katie Peek

Geology

How Water Made Fire in an Indonesian Volcano

Heavy rains may have set off an outpouring of ash and gases from Indonesia’s volcano Semeru “like uncorking a soda bottle”

Stephanie Pappas

Language

The Linguistics of Swearing Explain Why We Substitute Darn for Damn

Languages from Hindi to Korean tone down swear words by inserting gentler consonants into speech. Here’s how “Let’s go Brandon” got started

Emily Willingham