Astronomers believe they have already identified some 700 of the 1,100 "Earth-killer" asteroids in the solar system—and none of them is on a collision course with our planet. But what's not known is how many smaller rocks are out there. Smaller asteroids might slam into Earth with only a few hours' notice, devastating a city or generating giant tidal waves.
Long before the battle cry "Remember the Alamo" was heard, the Tejanos—Mexicans who had lived in Texas for generations—began the fight for Texas independence. But popular history has often ignored Tejanos' role in shaping the Lone Star State.
Through the expertise of a forensic anthropologist, an underwater archaeologist, a forensic artist, and a genealogist, the eight men who were found in the Civil War submarine H.L. Hunley have been identified and their stories revealed. The Confederate Hunley sank in 1864 and was raised from a South Carolina harbor four years ago. The crew's remains are to be buried next weekend in what's been touted as the "last funeral of the Civil War."
The Shroud of Turin, once thought to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, was declared a medieval fake—produced between 1260 and 1390. But one scientist believes that the samples used for dating were flawed. (A related story airs this weekend on the National Geographic Channel.)
Archaeologists in Cyprus have excavated the 9,500-year-old remains of a cat found buried with a human and decorative artifacts. The ancient feline—which predates early Egyptian evidence of domestic cats by some 4,000 years—may be the world's oldest known pet cat.
Greenland's ice sheet could disappear within a thousand years if global warming continues at its present rate, according to a new study. Scientists predict the thaw could raise sea levels and swamp coastal cities, including London and Los Angeles.
A microorganism too small to see with the naked eye may be the answer to one of the U.S. Department of Energy's largest environmental problems: hundreds of billions of gallons of groundwater contaminated with uranium and other toxic chemicals—the byproducts of nuclear bombs made during the Cold War.
Ten years ago today the assassination of Rwanda president Juvenal Habyarimana triggered a genocide that left 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead. A former Africa-based reporter examines Rwanda today and recalls his past encounters with survivors of the tragedy.
Unable to conceive a child, Angela Leony visited a healer in Brazil. The healer, an Afro-Brazilian woman whose ancestors descended from African slaves, told Leony the problem might be solved by drinking tea made from a local pea plant.
Recent U.S. government action against a circus reignited the debate over performing elephants. Does the use of these and other exotic animals for entertainment help the conservation of the species in the wild? Or are circuses making money out of cruelty?
The winners of the state-level competitions of the National Geographic Bee will be moving on to the finals at National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., on May 25 and 26. Find out who they are, and test your geographic knowledge with ten questions from the state competitions.
Argentine paleontologists have discovered a 13-foot (4-meter) plant-eating dinosaur with a long neck and small head that roamed the southern tip of South America about 70 million years ago.
Students participating at the state level of the National Geographic Bee today have quite a challenge ahead of them. For the local teachers, state Bee coordinators, and the Geography Competitions staff at National Geographic, working to insure the continued success of the competition presents challenges all its own.
