Science

A cuttlefish swims on seagrass. Cuttlefish can change the color and texture of their bodies. cinoby/Getty Images hide caption

Gemini IV spacewalk, June 3, 1965. NASA astronaut Ed White became the first American to walk in space. NASA hide caption

New insights into the brain's waste-removal system could one day help researchers better understand and prevent many brain disorders. Mihaela Rosu/Getty Images hide caption

Once completed, India's National River Linking Project will transfer an estimated 200 billion cubic meters of water around the country each year. STRDEL / Stringer/Getty Images hide caption

Synchronous fireflies, known as Photuris frontalis, blink in the woods near the Congaree River on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. Sam Wolfe for NPR hide caption

NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope is set to launch in 2027. This innovative telescope is designed to investigate long-standing astronomical mysteries, such as dark energy, the force behind the universe's expansion. NASA hide caption

Launched in 1990, a major goal of the Human Genome Project was to sequence the human genome as fully as possible. In 2003, project scientists unveiled a genome sequence that accounted for over 90% of the human genome — as complete as possible for the technology of the time. Darryl Leja, NHGRI/Flickr hide caption

Some ants, like the Florida carpenter ant, treat the injured legs of comrades, and will even perform medical amputations when necessary. Zen Rial/Getty Images hide caption

A simulation of the formation of dark matter structures from the early universe until today. Ralf Kaehler/NASA/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, American Museum of Natural History hide caption

A blue shark captured from below off the coast of New Zealand. Cultura RM Exclusive/Richard Robinson/Getty Images hide caption

Noise pollution from human activities can have negative impacts on our health—from sleep disturbances and stress to increases in the risk of heart disease and diabetes. tolgart/Getty Images hide caption

Illustration of a brain and genomic DNA on a dark blue particle background. Yuichiro Chino/Getty Images hide caption

Discovered in 2016, a roughly Earth-sized planet orbiting our nearest neighboring star might be habitable. This artist's impression shows a view of the surface of the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the solar system. ESO/M. Kornmesser hide caption

Reconstruction of a Lokiceratops rangiformis being surprised by a crocodilian in the 78-million-year-old swamps that would have existed in what is now northern Montana. Andrey Atuchin/Museum of Evolution hide caption

Freelance science writer Sadie Dingfelder is the author of the new book Do I Know You?, which explores human sight, memory and imagination. Little, Brown Spark, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company hide caption

A red giant star and white dwarf orbit each other in this animation of a nova similar to T Coronae Borealis. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center hide caption

Ferris Jabr's book Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life examines the ways life and Earth have shaped each other. Lucas Heinrich/Random House hide caption