A Moment of Science

A simple exercise to do at home with A Moment of Science

Would you drink a mixture of acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate, acetone, acetic acid, and a few of the compounds known as hexenals, which give fresh-cut grass is characteristic odor?

Swimming in a school has a lot of benefits for fish, from social opportunities to avoiding predators to finding more food.

Researchers have heard orangutans make the noise after the danger has passed—a sign that they’re communicating about the past, and the first evidence that primates other than humans have that ability.

Craving dessert? Today’s episode considers some particularly sweet science: the importance of eggs for baking a cake.

It’s a tough world out there, so really, what’s a gull to do?

If the air temperature gets close to our body temperature, something more is needed to keep the skin cooler than the inner body. We sweat.

By human standards, some animals’ eating habits are strange, and even disgusting. One example is coprophagy—eating poop.

Water molecules attract each other. The molecules at the surface of a body of water make a film under tension. That film is strong enough to support a needle or a small insect like a water strider.

Researchers reported that they discovered a tiny spider in the Peruvian Amazon rain forest that has a behavior that’s surprisingly similar to the web-slinging superhero.

One mirror is not enough to see yourself as others see you. When you look at a bathroom mirror you see an image of yourself with left and right reversed.

If you look at a map of Scotland, you may notice a line cutting straight through the country. This line, called the Great Glen Fault, is the result of a long geological history that has in turn impacted the history of Scotland itself.

A cool, dry cotton fiber springs back after being bent. A warm, damp cotton fiber doesn't. Moisture and temperature make the difference.

Blue jays, poison dart frogs, and peacocks—each of these animals is distinct for their same vibrant color. But have you ever seen a blue spider?

Why a mix of red light and green light looks yellow, in this Moment of Science.

Evolutionary biologists thought it was a general rule among mammals that males are bigger, but that's not always the case.

The 17th-century English physicist Robert Hooke was curious about the remarkable properties of cork -- its ability to float, its springy quality, its usefulness in sealing bottles. Hooke investigated the structure of cork with a new scientific instrument he was very enthusiastic about: the microscope.

One of the more mysterious pleasures of a warm summer evening is the spectacle of lightning from distant thunderstorms, flickering silently on the horizon while stars shine overhead. People usually call it heat lightning.

Learn about the role that ethylene plays in ripening fruit with today's A Moment of Science

Over the past 100,000 years, a snail species has done what it normally takes a species millions of years to do: give live birth.

The distant past is poorly known, and paleontologists find fossil evidence for new large animals all the time.

Jabuticaba is a fruit native to Brazil. It’s the size and color of a plum, with a white pulp and several seeds

Perhaps you’ve heard that the average person dreams four to six times each night. But did you know that most of us are unable to recall 90% of our dreams?

The carefree southern sea otters of central California’s coast have had a secret mission: working to fight the devastating loss of kelp forests due to anthropogenic climate change.

Researchers used statistical tools to forecast which characteristics the animals of the future will likely have.