For four days this past February, approximately a hundred thousand people all over North America braved the winter chill to tally birds in their backyards. They reported their more than four million sightings online as part of the Great Backyard Bird Count.
Dental studies hint that Neandertals may have matured much earlier than modern humans—perhaps by as young as 15 years old, as opposed to 18 to 20 for modern humans, a team of scientists reports. Could this be why they may have been less smart than us?
Satellite pictures taken last summer of Mount Ararat in Turkey may reveal the final resting place of Noah's ark, according to Daniel McGivern, the businessman and Christian activist behind a planned summer 2004 expedition to investigate the site.
This Arbor Day—Friday, April 30, 2004—a clone of a tree planted by George Washington will be planted at a historic New York State farm. That same day, a clone of Washington State's tallest sycamore will be planted at George Washington's Virginia home, Mount Vernon.
In Arizona lies a nondescript ranch house that is no less than one of the most famous bird-watching sites in the world. Birding columnist Mathew Tekulsky reports from Marion Paton's backyard.
For comet enthusiasts, the potential to glimpse three different "naked eye" comets within a span of a few weeks is rare. On average, a comet visible to the unaided eye appears about once every five years. Over the next few weeks three comets should be in view for those who know how to spot them.
Eighteen years ago today (2004), reactor number four of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded. The accident killed at least 30 plant workers, caused the hospitalization of hundreds of others, and exposed millions of people to harmful radiation. Yet today the true health costs of the nuclear disaster are still unknown.
Archaeologists working in Guatemala's rain forest under the protection of armed guards say they have unearthed one of the greatest Maya art masterpieces ever found. The excavation's co-leader, meanwhile, said he has received death threats tied to an upcoming trial of alleged Maya antiquities thieves.
Robots armed with cameras and scientific instruments will descend the 2.2 miles (3.6 kilometers) to the wreck of the Titanic on a National Geographic-supported expedition next month. The mission: to assess the impact of treasure-hunters and thrill-seeking tourists on the famous ship, which is already succumbing to the natural forces of worms, rusticles, pressure, salinity, and currents.
When Patrick Orozco, a Native American faith keeper, began collecting songs from tribal elders throughout California, he found that many of the songs were only partially known and their meaning lost. But through painstaking work, Orozco has pieced this rich cultural heritage back together.
Geologists have found fresh evidence that early life on Earth may have been linked to volcanic environments. New fossils reveal that bacteria tunneled their way into lava that solidified on the primordial seafloor 3.5 billion years ago.
Sacred Planet, a new giant-screen movie that pays homage to nature's harmony and indigenous cultures around the world, opens today, Earth Day. The film's director says he wanted to raise public awareness about the environment by focusing not on Earth's destruction, but on its splendor.
Nationalgeographic.com has been nominated for Webby Awards in three categories. The awards are presented by peer-judges and are considered the Oscars of the online world. One of the nominees is National Geographic News.
How might the emergence of billions of cicadas in mid-May affect U.S. wedding plans? Outdoor weddings could experience dive-bombing cicadas looking for mates, guests flailing their arms at the flying insects, and vows lost in the cacophony of "singing" males.
Most scientists agree that global warming presents the greatest threat to the environment. If our planet's ice caps and glaciers continue to melt the sea level will rise and submerge vast territories, from entire countries to large parts of the United States.
