Fifteen years ago, human error caused the oil tanker Exxon Valdez to spill 11 million gallons (40 million liters) of crude into Alaska's Prince William Sound. While scores of other tanker accidents have dumped far more oil into the seas, few, if any, have caused more environmental damage.
This evening at twilight, two universal symbols of beauty will shine together in the western sky to create a stunning sight for North and South Americans. The planet Venus, the mythological representation of the goddess of love and beauty, will be seen very near the crescent moon, a night object with its own claims to beauty.
The vernal equinox—one of two times each year when night and day are officially of equal length—is upon us. But day is actually longer than night during an equinox.
No species comes close to the wealth of culture that humans boast. But what explains our extreme cultural diversity? In a new study, researchers suggest human cultural evolution is driven in large part by a desire to control resources.
On any given day during the United States tornado season—which begins later this month and peaks in May—there's a good chance that a twister will touch down somewhere in the country. Despite being so common, these dangerous and sometimes deadly storms remain shrouded in mystery.
A cloud of myth and fact surrounds St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the United States, rivaling the unclear history of the Irish patron saint for which the day is named.
Since the time of ancient Rome, people haven't given much thought to the Calends of April or the Nones of May. But the Ides of March still resonates today as a day of infamy, due to the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.
Dozens of exquisitely preserved Inca mummies have been found on a barren hillside outside Lima, Peru, in an area near planned highway construction. The remains were found in an ancient cemetery used by the Inca middle class, researchers say.
The bubonic plague may have originated in ancient Egypt, according to a new study. Egyptian tomb builders may have been early victims of the lethal, flea-borne pathogen that later claimed millions of lives in medieval Europe and became known as the Black Death.
For many children in the world, their last memory of home is of being
roused from sleep in the middle of the night and running to escape bombs, fires, and gunshots. Today there are an estimated 20 million children who have been forced to flee their homes.
Sixty-five million years ago, a city-size asteroid slammed into what is now Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, creating a massive crater and covering the Earth in ash. Many scientists believe the impact killed the dinosaurs. But controversial new research disputes that claim.
After a 140-year run in an Ontario sideshow, the 3,000-year-old
mummy of Pharaoh Ramses I returned to Egypt last September. The
repatriation served to highlight Egypt's ongoing struggle to return
exported antiquities and restore its lost cultural heritage.
Noisy, active, and ubiquitous, birds are one of the most effective alarm systems in nature, often warning other animals, including humans, of trouble in the neighborhood. Now the organizers of a global conference on bird conservation want more people to recognize what birds are telling us about the world environment.
Bill Stone's got one thing on his mind these days—going where no one has gone before. For the past four weeks, he and 39 international teammates have been rappelling, hiking, and digging day in and day out in hopes of breaking into Cheve Cave.
