Rae Ellen Bichell

They were ugly. And, unfortunately, they were not equipped with an anus. But the sand dwellers could be an important part of filling in our own early evolutionary tree.

Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf is about to lose an iceberg the size of Delaware. Scientists gathering in the U.K. are scratching their heads about why it's cracking off.

If the rift gets long enough, Antarctica will lose a chunk of ice the size of Delaware.

Black holes aren't all doom and gloom. Some of these incredibly dense matter-suckers fling powerful jets of light and charged particles — the space version of a fireworks show.

As 2016 draws to a close, we are re-visiting some of the people we met this year — including one man who survived a stroke at a young age, and a listener who heard his story on the radio.

When scientists got their hands on a collection of the world's biggest gem diamonds, they found something surprising inside — clues about what sits hundreds of miles beneath our feet.

NASA engineers are trying to figure out why a part of the rover's robotic arm keeps stalling just as it's about to drill into Martian rock.

Millions of years ago, a dinosaur about the size of a sparrow had a bad day. It got stuck in tree resin. Paleontologists recently came across the rare amber fossil containing its tail in Myanmar.

Each year, millions of Americans leave jail or prison. When they do, they're likely to have a hard time managing their health. Some clinics are trying to provide ex-inmates with better, cheaper care.

To research mysterious and deadly diseases, a scientist puts on a plastic bodysuit and steps into a lab sealed off from the outside world.

When the volcano started rumbling, North Korean researchers realized they didn't have the tools to predict if it might erupt. So they reached out to Western scientists for help.

The GOES-R satellite launched Saturday. It'll enter orbit and sit 22,000 miles above the Americas, monitoring weather on the planet — and in space.

The toxin comes from tiny frogs in Colombia — the ones that pack a punch on the tip of poison darts. In the past, research on toxins like this has led to some pretty amazing drug discoveries.

Two monkeys with spinal cord injuries were able to move after a wireless implant restored the connection between brain and legs. But any help for people will be years away, researchers say.

An easier way to edit genes, called CRISPR-Cas9, is revolutionizing biomedical research. But as patents and big prizes hover, some contributors to the discovery aren't getting much credit.

As scientists try to figure out what happened to the Schiaparelli lander, which may have crash-landed, a craft known as the Trace Gas Orbiter is orbiting the red planet in search of signs of life.

A joint European-Russian mission is attempting to land a probe on the red planet. If successful, it would be the first time a non-U.S. spacecraft has successfully operated from the surface of Mars.

Latest on the impacts of Hurricane Matthew, from Tybee Island off the coast of Georgia, where some residents decided to ride out the storm.

With high winds and rain hitting Georgia's coastal communities, it's now too late to evacuate. A curfew is in place until daylight because of fears of looting.

Hurricane Matthew continues to churn north towards Georgia and the Carolinas. The concern continues to be the storm surge combined with heavy winds and rain.