![Some Deep-Sea Ornaments to Brighten a Dark Day [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/8A8C7404-AD3C-45C7-AE392E2F5BDFB871_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Some Deep-Sea Ornaments to Brighten a Dark Day [Video]
Slow down and savor a few moments of scientific wonder
Stories by Jennifer Frazer
Chocolate Trees Shower Young with Disease-Fighting Leaves
Cacao plants have an internal microbiome they can pass to seedlings just as human moms do
Bacteria Recruit Diatoms to Ice Party with Massive Anchor
An Antarctic bacterium with a protein as big as some bacteria has a special way of bringing microbes together
Unexpected Fossils Hint at Large Life 1.6 Billion Years Ago
If true, fossils found in bacterial mats push back earliest known eukaryotes by 400 million years
Beelzebufo and the Pumpkin Toadlet
Spiders, snakes and assorted creepy-crawlies get all the glory. It’s time to give scary frogs and toads some Halloween love
Deep-Sea Surprise: The Forest of the Weird
Scientists encountered an unexpected glass sponge garden this summer in the deep Pacific
Parasite Can Pass Warnings between Co-Joined Hosts
The plant parasite dodder grafts itself to multiple hosts, fusing the plants into a superorganism that can produce surprising effects
Bacteria Stab Amoebas to Escape Being Eaten
One species has found yet another use for a favorite bacterial multitool
New Glimpses of Rare Deep-Sea Siphonphores
2017 has produced a beautiful crop
Moldy Rock Pulled from 2,500 Feet Underground
Swedes searching for nuclear waste storage site stumble on a pocket of fungi that may reveal a huge hidden reservoir of life
![Praying Mantises Catch and Eat Birds Alive [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/C1F6ED1A-25F7-460B-A6A6B4376B1082E4_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Praying Mantises Catch and Eat Birds Alive [Video]
Hummingbirds in the Americas are a favorite target, but behavior seen worldwide
Learn about Rocky Mountain Mushrooms with Yours Truly
Curious about mushrooms? Live in Colorado?
![Alien Creature Swarming Oregon's Coast Is Actually a Close Relative [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/730B22FB-711E-4804-A4C1FD4E82AEB2B6_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Alien Creature Swarming Oregon's Coast Is Actually a Close Relative [Video]
Oddly-shaped "sea pickles" have simple spinal cords and spines, at least as youngsters
Internet Sees Mysterious Gathering (Council?) of Gandalf-Themed Creatures
Wizard hats are all the rage, apparently
New Trove of Lichen Fossils Expands Total from 15 to 167
Botanical bonanza is also a trove of eye candy
![The Sea Cucumber That Became a Jellyfish [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/D493CEED-9BD2-4E18-8CA7164B22A98935_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
The Sea Cucumber That Became a Jellyfish [Video]
Calling Cthulhu ...
Bacterial Hair on Undersea Volcano Unlike Any Seen Before
Discovery is proof entire Earth ecosystems still await discovery
![The Giant Shipworm, Revealed at Last [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/75CD111D-BE5B-4F7E-9273D70E606D7E6C_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
The Giant Shipworm, Revealed at Last [Video]
An animal that eluded collection for hundreds of years bolsters deep-sea colonization hypothesis
Are These Trilobite Eggs?
Mystery of trilobite reproduction may at last be solved
![15-Million-Year-Old Pinecones Can Still Move [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/5241FB28-25B4-40ED-90A761330CCBE04A_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
15-Million-Year-Old Pinecones Can Still Move [Video]
In 15 million years, you will not be moving anything
