MinuteEarth

Many bones have special layers of cells on each end known as "growth plates"; these cells are constantly dividing and turning into brand-new bone. That's what makes both you and, say, an

Here are three of our best theories:

The first is that fungi might not get anything from producing psilocybin. Maybe the compound is an evolutionary accident like our widow’s peaks, or a relic from the species’ past, like our tailbone nubbins.

Another idea is that maybe it helps them fend off hungry critters… after all,...

An electric eel can deliver a shock of as much as 860 volts, which is about seven times higher than the voltage of the average US power outlet. That’s enough to paralyze other animals, or even kill them outright.

Being able to produce electric shocks sounds… well… shocking, but all animals are capable of producing electricity – even you. Every time an animal’s nerve o...

One of the best ways to help save at-risk premature babies is to have their parents spend hours snuggling them to their bare chests; it's called kangaroo care because the skin-to-skin contact it creates is a lot like the cozy confines of a kangaroo’s pouch.

There seems to be a couple major reasons it works so well. First, kangaroo care is a great way to keep a baby war...

One of the strangest-ever crime sprees hit a small town in England in 1921. It wasn't murder or bank robbery - instead, people were finding that the milk bottles delivered to their houses would have the foil caps pierced and the cream on top of the milk sucked out. Turns out, birds - specifically a species called great tits - had learned a new way to find a meal. The wildest ...