No One Is Quite Sure Why Ice Is Slippery

A thin, watery layer coating the surface of ice is what makes it slick. Despite a great deal of theorizing over the centuries, though, it isn't entirely clear why that layer forms. [...]

Male octopuses guided through mating by female hormones

A receptor that's used to find prey is also activated by progesterone. [...]

A fluid can store solar energy and then release it as heat months later

Sunlight can cause a molecule to change structure, and then release heat later. [...]

Meet the mysterious electrides

These chemical oddities may explain why Earth seems to be deficient in certain elements. [...]

The 2026 El Niño Is Being ‘Supersized’ as Impacts Worsen

The World Meteorological Organization is warning that the climate phenomenon that has the Pacific running a fever will last until at least February, with dire consequences for weather worldwide. [...]

A North Atlantic Right Whale Baby Boom Is On—but the Species Remains at Risk

Researchers have documented the births of nearly two dozen North Atlantic right whale calves this season. It’s an encouraging sign for a species whose population is estimated to be below 400. [...]

Japan lost a 5-ton navigation satellite when it fell off a rocket during launch

Imagine: You lost your car's cargo rack, but didn't notice until you reached your destination. [...]

The origin story of syphilis goes back far longer than we thought

A 5,500-year-old fossil from Colombia has scientists rethinking syphilis origins. [...]

Factify wants to move past PDFs and .docx by giving digital documents their own brain

Tel Aviv-based startup Factify emerged from stealth today with a $73 million seed round for an ambitious, yet quixotic mission: to bring digital documents beyond the standard formats most businesses u [...]