Mother Nature Network

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Mysterious 'Wow!' signal may finally have an explanation

The famous signal from outer space may not have been sent from aliens after all.<p>In 1977, a SETI researcher working at the Big Ear radio telescope of …

Aliens

Meet the guy who sold everything to sail around the world

In 2016, Andrew Sullivan decided to face his fears and begin a journey. 11 months and 10,000 miles later, he's still going.<p>If you've ever dreamed of …

U.S. Coast Guard

Why it's smarter to stay in the Paris climate deal

A U.S. retreat from the historic Paris Agreement would be bad for the world, but it could be even worse for the U.S. itself.<p>President Donald Trump is …

Climate

Fiona the hippo greets the press

Fiona, the prematurely-born hippo who resides at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, has become a media darling thanks to her story of …

Animals

Why Canada's summer of fee-free national parks is making conservationists anxious

Sometimes sesquicentennials can have major consequences.<p>You can call it the Iceland syndrome.<p>It’s what happens when you live somewhere so overstuffed …

National Parks

Vulture dads take in abandoned egg, raise chick as their own in Amsterdam

When zookeepers at Artis Amsterdam Royal Zoo discovered an abandoned egg on the floor of the vulture aviary, they initially placed the egg in an …

Birds

How hot does water need to be when you wash your hands?

Duration is more important than temperature when it comes to killing germs.<p>It has long been supposed that hot water works to get bacteria off your …

Doesn't Really Matter

How crowded Barcelona plans to shoehorn in 108 acres of new parks

The green spaces will be networked so birds, bees, (and humans) can enjoy connected habitat.<p>There are few things more romantic than navigating the …

Cities

This guy is improving animals' lives, one prosthetic at a time

Derrick Campana helps thousands of animals walk and run again.<p>Derrick Campana just wants all animals to be able to walk. And if they can do it …

Pets

Space industry CEO claims there currently exists an ET presence on Earth

'I probably spent more as an individual than anybody else in the United States has ever spent on this subject,' he claims.<p>Cue the "X-Files" theme …

UFOs

Why vanilla prices have gone nuts

The crop is getting hammered by low yields, climate change, speculation and theft.<p>I use vanilla extract so often in my cooking and baking that I keep …

Vanilla

Experience a Jupiter flyby with this video

Soaring past any planet, let alone the largest one in the solar system, isn't something many of us are likely to experience. However, thanks to a …

Space Exploration

12 animals utterly fascinated with bubbles

There's something so fun about bubbles. Those squishy, magical balls come floating down just asking to be chased ... and popped!<p>Little kids, of …

Foxes

How to find awe in everyday things

You don’t have to scale Everest or see a Broadway show to reap the awesome benefits of wonder.<p>The word "awesome" is ubiquitous these days – used to …

Happiness

Google maps out America's most misspelled words and ... seriously, people?

In honor of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Google Trends created a map of the top "how to spell" searches by state.<p>Who knew there were so many …

Maps

Is water a taste, like sweet or salty? We might actually have taste buds for it

Water is essential to life, so it would make sense that we have a way of distinguishing it from other substances.<p>Thirst is one of the fundamental …

Water

8 dogs who came a long way to find their happy endings

They were tied up and left in the cold or worse — but that's the past.<p>At first glance, these dogs might seem like any other pet basking in the warmth …

Mother's Day

Rice paddies: Glassy landscapes with a complex history

The shiny reflections found in these paddy fields are more than a pretty landscape scene — they represent an ancient agricultural legacy that is now …

Agriculture

What you need to know about dog flu

This highly contagious illness can spread like wildfire. Here's how to keep your dog safe.<p>As animal experts around the country amplify their warnings …

Pets

As king tides splash on Hawaii, citizen scientists are keeping tabs on them

The tides were high in Hawaii in late May and while that might not seem that notable, researchers say it's a window to the future. Those rising tides …

Climate Change

A 'supermutt' reveals his secret identity

Otis, a rescue mutt with mysterious origins, took a new dog DNA test that offers a wealth of data on breed mix, health risks and more.<p>The best way to …

DNA

4 food books I want to read this summer

I'll travel and dine vicariously while I enjoy the sun (and you can too.)<p>For the first time since I started this yearly summer reading list — I …

Food

10 tips for people who don't like to camp

Not your thing? That's no reason to stay at home.<p>Ah, the great outdoors. There's nothing quite like that feeling of sleeping under the stars …

Camping

Why NASA wants to 'touch the sun'

Agency's Parker Solar Probe will launch in 2018 with a goal of exploring the sun's scorching outer atmosphere.<p>The sun, the very centerpiece of our …

Space Exploration

Is climate change keeping you up at night?

We're not talking about worrying; we're talking about temperature.<p>Add climate change to the list of reasons we can't sleep at night. And it's not …

Climate Change

New Yorkers line up for 'Manhattanhenge'

Observers gather along Manhattan's east-west streets to witness a spectacular solar alignment.<p>The sunset aligns with the Manhattan street grid in …

Neil deGrasse Tyson

7th grader's viral slam poem perfectly sums up insecurities many of us feel

When Brett Cornelius, a middle school teacher in Arizona's Queen Creek Middle School asked his students to perform a monologue as their …

Middle School

My month on the Whole30 diet

For 30 days, I said no to dairy, grains, sugar, beans and most alcohol.<p>There are a few tiers of this food pyramid that are off limits on the Whole30 …

Diets

7 new telescopes that will change the way we see space

A new age of astronomy is dawning, thanks to an unprecedented building boom of big telescopes that are expected to shed light on dark energy, distant …

Universe

5 types of cute skunks you didn't know existed

They all stink, but there's much more to the skunk world than just the black-and-white stripes of Pepé Le Pew.<p>There is more variety in the skunk …