Stories by Marta Zaraska

As temperatures rise, some creatures pick fights while others struggle to learn

Microplastics are seemingly everywhere—and now growing research suggests they could be breeding grounds for drug-resistant bacteria

Kitchen items—sponges, blenders, kettles—are abundant sources of microplastics that we all consume

Lizards in France have grown lighter in color, and so have many insects and birds across the globe. The effects of a changing climate are plainly visible throughout the animal kingdom

Female elephants address one another with individualized rumbles

Large stores of natural hydrogen have turned up in Albania, France and Mali

Scents are not only important in our relationship to food and the natural world. They also play a role in how we communicate with people we know

Highly processed foods resemble drugs of misuse in a number of disturbing ways

Dancing, rowing and even finger tapping in unison unleash powerful forces in the brain that drive good feelings

A rise in global temperatures may be making all kinds of creatures smaller—a trend with worrisome implications

Flora may be able to detect the sounds of flowing water or munching insects

Gelotophobics can’t stand to hear chuckles because they think they’re the butt of the joke

Expressing humor is a key part of being human

Thanks to some evolutionary hardwiring in the brain and body, our physical and psychological temperatures are linked 

The concept of a “seeing plant” fell by the wayside in the early 20th century—only to reemerge in the past few years

Women prefer the scent of men who eat diets rich in certain foods—including garlic! 

Research is unwinding the physiological basis of synesthesia, finding links to migraine, autism and other conditions that suggest a role for the immune system 

Several “artificial” approaches exist but most evidence suggests that training cannot capture a synesthete’s experience

Four insect–and tick-borne viruses that you may not have heard about are now worrying researchers

We love animals, yet most of us also eat them. Research is revealing the cognitive tricks we use to resolve the omnivore’s dilemma 

Our political attitudes may be written in our DNA

New research is unraveling how and why the elderly “choose happiness”