Stories by The Conversation US

Magnetoreception is one of the most controversial animal senses. And several bee species might have it

Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli painted Simonetta Vespucci as Venus rising from the waves. Now scientists think they’ve solved how she died

When the roads get crowded, many drivers start changing lanes. Mathematics suggests this intuition is typically wrong

Spoonerisms are among the most well-known speech errors, and for linguists and psychologists they offer a glimpse into how our brains produce speech

The sheer amount of insects that free-range cats consume might surprise you

Tennis players can return high-speed balls using a combination of reaction and predicting the future

Working memory is the information we need to access to complete the tasks we’re engaged in right now, and scientists think it may be closely entwined with consciousness

Trying to kill algae with chemicals is a common response when community ponds or other water features go green, but a freshwater ecologist says there may be safer and more effective solutions

A field guide to the space rocks you might see streaking across the night sky

Key differences in the chemical structure of butter and margarine mean choosing one or the other has a big effect on your baking

Sports psychology plays a major role on and off the pitch, helping players manage chaos and stay strategic

Of the more than 624,000 highway bridges in the U.S., an estimated 220,000 need repairs. Quantum sensors could help engineers better safeguard these vital pieces of infrastructure

Some people who take GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide see little to no changes to their weight. The reason why may be genetics

When presented with two different types of decisions, the brain accumulates evidence in a similar way

Newt Gingrich raised eyebrows with a social media post about using nuclear bombs to cut a new channel in the Strait of Hormuz. There’s history there

Atmospheric scientist Perry Samson was doing fieldwork when he was unexpectedly caught inside a tornado—making him one of the few such people who have lived to tell the tale

Iranian residents have reported headaches, difficulty breathing, and oil-contaminated rain settling on buildings and cars after the bombing of oil depots

Punch, a monkey that went viral after he was abandoned by his mother in a Japanese zoo, is reminiscent of a foundational attachment theory experiment

Space's microgravity appears to shift the location of the brains of astronauts—without a clear effect on their health

As Earth’s temperature rises, fewer places will be suitable for hosting the Winter Olympics

The puzzle of time remains one of the most persistent obstacles to a unified theory of physics

There’s a scientific reason your OJ tastes funny after you brush your teeth

Capsizing icebergs are violently clashing with the crumbling end of the Doomsday Glacier

Sleep is often the first thing that many people associate with rest, but humans also require restorative downtime when awake