Mining Rare-Earth Elements from Fossilized Fish
Strange as it might seem, a 2,500-square-kilometer zone south of one tiny Pacific island could supply four substances that are crucial to modern electronics for centuries
Stories by Jennifer Frazer
The Brittle Star That Sees with Its Body
It turns out that eyes aren’t necessary for vision
Farewell, Amoeba Fans
This blog, though not its author, reaches the end of the line
![Contagious Amoeba Vampirizes Gum Cells [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/11AFA678-847A-4868-81647DF1A4A6C46F_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Contagious Amoeba Vampirizes Gum Cells [Video]
An amoeba spread by respiratory droplets, kisses and eating utensils may be a serious (and creepy) gum disease pathogen
Scientists Waited Two and a Half Years to See whether Bacteria Can Eat Rock
The mystery of dirt’s origins is a thorny experimental problem
Dirt Doesn’t Smell like Dirt
It smells like bacteria. But why?
![Travel Down a Borehole into Antarctica's Lake Mercer [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/A85FD7DD-260B-434A-8F721848AA7B0D60_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Travel Down a Borehole into Antarctica's Lake Mercer [Video]
Beautiful new footage ventures into a lake that is among the most remote on earth
![Feast Your Eyes on Australia's Newly Explored Depths [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/1EC5023D-6014-415B-94BF48FADDDBD038_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Feast Your Eyes on Australia’s Newly Explored Depths [Video]
Take a few moments to enjoy stalked barnacles, googly-eyed glass squid and other oddities of the deep, where it is cold, dark and 100 percent coronavirus free
Marine Microbe Performs Animal Trick
A cup of cells can both bend and “see,” feats rarely seen outside of animals
Slime Molds Have Been Oozing around Earth for at Least 100 Million Years
Stunning new fossil reveals that at least one Cretaceous slime mold—an “intelligent” giant amoeba—looks identical to one alive today
How a Tiny Pit Decides a Pine Tree’s Fate
Live fast, die young and leave a good lookin’ stump
Did the Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Inadvertently Help Lichens?
The leafy lichens seem to have picked up where a lot of incinerated plants left off
New Shipworm Eats Rock, a First for Animals
Like lichens, these animals mine stone. What they do with it is another question
Striped Maples Can Change Sex Repeatedly
Unassuming tree has unusual sex life
These Bizarre Parasites Garden Their Insect Hosts
Be glad human STDs do not include this one
What the Heck Are These Fossils?
Are they the first animal embryos? 20 years post-discovery, these and other fossils from the 600-million-year-old Doushantuo Formation remain frustratingly enigmatic
![Organ Stealing and Slavery Rampant among—Plankton? [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/88F2B3AB-B3A8-43B9-A0991DB1AC23ED91_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Organ Stealing and Slave Driving Rampant among—Plankton?
Ocean microbes long thought to depend exclusively on eating turn out to have a solid, if sinister, Plan B
How a Half-Inch Beetle Finds Fires 80 Miles Away
Fire chaser beetles' ability to sense heat borders on the spooky
![Kangaroo Rats Channel Jackie Chan to Evade Rattlesnakes [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/5560CD89-B9EA-4D83-93DB2E0D42B4888F_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Kangaroo Rats Channel Jackie Chan to Evade Rattlesnakes [Video]
First ever high-speed video of interaction contains big surprises
For Some Reason, New World Flying Squirrels Fluoresce Pink
No other placental mammals have ever shown this ability—perhaps because we haven't looked
