Joanna Thompson

Researchers have isolated viable microbes from melting permafrost after tens of thousands of years. But don't worry; they infect only amoebas.

Does anyone have sovereignty over the moon? And can anyone buy it?

Paleontologists in China have examined the remarkable gut remnants of a birdlike dinosaur that lived more than 100 million years ago.

Who actually wore togas, and what were they for?

Images and footage of the black-naped pheasant-pigeon were recently captured by scientists. This is the first documented sighting of the elusive bird since 1882.

Extremely detailed Cambrian fossils show that enigmatic skeleton tubes belonged to ancient ancestors of modern jellyfish.

New research reveals exactly how inbred the Devils Hole pupfish is.

A 54-year-old woman in Indonesia was killed and eaten by a massive python

If humans had tails, what would they be like, and how would we use them?

Many fairytales have an evil stepmother who is determined to ruin the lives of her stepchildren. But what are the roots of this age-old trope?

The Bering Sea's snow crab population has been in decline over the last five years, but this season the population has collapsed.

Scientists recently unearthed stunning fossils of sturgeon from Hell's Creek that might have died on the day that the dinosaur-killing asteroid struck.

Space weather has been known to cause power outages and disrupt satellite function. Is the internet safe?

While researchers have not yet identified the species of an enormous newfound dinosaur, the sauropod is already breaking size records.

Meet Mbiresaurus raathi, the oldest African dinosaur (and one of the world's earliest) whose neighbors lived in Brazil.

Here's why cats 'play' with their prey before dealing the death blow.

The cooler climate pattern is predicted to persist for the third winter in a row, bringing an increased risk of powerful hurricanes to the eastern U.S. and flooding to Australia.

Science suggests that words aren't strictly necessary for reasoning.

A hefty abelisaurid is the fourth large, predatory dinosaur discovered in Egypt's Bahariya Formation, alongside other sizable Cretaceous carnivores.

Two sleuths in Norway uncovered the pieces of an extremely rare type of sword from the Viking Age.

Melon-size eggs belonging to an extinct and flightless giant 'thunder bird' were eaten by the first Australians.

Here's a historical look at the U.K.'s longest (and shortest) ruling monarchs.

Auroras don't just exist on Earth. Here's what we know about auroras on other planets in the solar system.

Ghostly imprints of very tiny "nannofossils" can offer a valuable window into our planet's past — and hint at its possible future.