It’s been 120 years since Henry Cavendish measured the gravitational constant with a pair of lead balls suspended by a wire. The fundamental nature of gravity still eludes our best minds - but those secrets may be revealed by turning...

The world of energy is a confusing place. What's better, nuclear or solar? What's the difference between fluorescent bulbs and LEDs? What's the difference between energy and power? And what the heck is a kilowatt-hour?!

Hank gets to the bottom of two studies reporting high sea ice coverage and snowmass in Antarctica in the same year that the Arctic has reported a record low of sea ice. What is going on here?

Researchers have made some unexpected readings of mysterious particles called muons, which may make us reexamine the Standard Model in physics.

New research suggests that cold weather may actually affect the human body's immune response, making us more susceptible to colds, flus and other upper respiratory infections. Dr. Benjamin Bleier, a sinus specialist at Mass Eye and Ear...

If you want to be prepared for a nuclear attack, here’s a science-based guide to help you get there.

The Greeks had a simple and elegant formula for the universe: just earth, fire, wind, and water. Turns out there's more to it than that -- a lot more. Visible matter (and that goes beyond the four Greek elements) comprises only 4% of the...

In some cartoons, the one with a bigger brain is often described as "smart," but is it true in real life?

When you think about Einstein and physics, E=mc^2 is probably the first thing that comes to mind. But one of his greatest contributions to the field actually came in the form of an odd philosophical footnote in a 1935 paper he co-wrote...

Google's "Jolly Good Fellow," Chade-Meng Tan, talks about how the company practices compassion in its everyday business -- and its bold side projects.

Over the course of history, we've discovered hundreds of thousands of asteroids. But how do astronomers discover these bits of rock and metal? How many have they found? And how do they tell asteroids apart? Carrie Nugent shares the story...

All the stars in a spiral galaxy rotate around a center -- but to astronomers, the speed that each star travels wasn't making sense. Why didn't stars slow down toward the edges as expected? Don Lincoln explains how a mysterious force...

It is important to get enough sleep, but what happens when you get those eight hours in little naps instead of in one big chunk at night?

Have you ever looked at your camera and wondered what all of those buttons actually do? For manual photography, the aperture, shutter speed and ISO sensitivity can all be manipulated to get just the right amount of light. Carolina...

This video is chapter 7 in my series on special relativity, and it covers the idea that some things AREN'T relative: there IS a sense of absolute length and absolute time, which can be agreed upon from all moving perspectives (as...

Although standardized testing is a particularly hot topic in education right now, this approach to measurement has been in use for two millennia. And while the results of standardized testing can help us understand some things, they can...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how an overall chemical reaction is made up of several elementary steps. The stoichiometry of this equation can be predicted but the rate law must be measured. If the elementary steps of the...

Decking out your pets with miniature hats is a sure recipe for a great photo. But scientists are accessorizing animals with various technological trinkets to help us learn more about the animals themselves and the places they live.

Hank explains absolute zero: -273.15 degrees Celsius - and the coldest place in the known universe may surprise you.

Physicist Werner Heisenberg said, "When I meet God, I am going to ask him two questions: why relativity? And why turbulence? I really believe he will have an answer for the first." As difficult as turbulence is to understand...

Hank gets to the bottom of two studies reporting high sea ice coverage and snowmass in Antarctica in the same year that the Arctic has reported a record low of sea ice. What is going on here?

On their 20th birthday, identical twin astronauts volunteer for an experiment. Terra will remain on Earth, while Stella will board a spaceship. Stella's ship will travel to visit a star that is 10 light-years away, then return to Earth....

Wanda Diaz Merced studies the light emitted by gamma-ray bursts, the most energetic events in the universe. When she lost her sight and was left without a way to do her science, she had a revelatory insight: the light curves she could no...

You've probably heard someone explain that hair grows in thicker after shaving, but is there any truth to this or is it just a myth?