Coronavirus fears have health professionals talking once again about the importance of washing your hands. Here's a primer on the proper technique — and some of the science — of cleaning up.

When it comes to hair-raising experiences, why do some of us cower while others can't get enough? Ken Carter, an expert on adrenaline junkies, reveals what makes them tick.

Nalini Nadkarni was one of the first people to study the canopy — the part of trees just above the forest floor to the top branches. Her discoveries have helped shape our understanding of forests.

You can often find ecologist Nalini Nadkarni up in trees. She studies this unexplored ecosystem of the rain forest — the canopy. It's the world above the forest floor, all the way to the treetops.

Studying active volcanoes can be dangerous, which is why a group of scientists from around the world came together to simulate volcanic blasts. What they're learning will help them at a real eruption.

Self-driving cars may be the future of transportation. But if they are going to share the road with humans, they have to learn how people behave behind the wheel.

The sun is responsible for all life on Earth, but we still have a lot to learn about it. So this summer, NASA is sending the Parker Solar Probe closer to the sun than we have ever been before.

This long-legged canid is in trouble. Its habitat in the Brazilian Savannah is being destroyed. So Smithsonian scientists are racing to breed a healthy backup population.

Insects are nature's masters of disguise. Take a backstage tour of the largest insect collection in America to experience nature's most convincing mimics.

North America's largest amphibian, the Hellbender salamander, is in trouble. They are endangered in several states. A team in Ohio is trying to save them before it's too late.

A new study reveals that elephant seals memorize the rhythm and pitch of individual voices. That means that the massive sea mammals know who's who, just by the sound of their voice.

Over half of the 7.5 billion humans on Earth live in just seven countries. What will the planet's population picture look like in 2100?

The scientists who developed the anti-reflective film were inspired by tiny, light-trapping structures on moth eyes that help the insects avoid predators.

Join NPR's Madeline Sofia on a tour of the largest collection of whale bones in the world. Curator Nick Pyenson takes us backstage to see Smithsonian specimens that aren't on display in museums.

Whales might be the largest animals on the planet, but they haven't always been so huge. Researchers say the ocean giants only became enormous fairly recently, and over a short period of time.

The Beibeilong was a giant, birdlike dinosaur that lived some 90 million years ago. Scientists say it had massive feathered wings and a birdlike skull and could grow to more than 26 feet long.

New research shows the 2-inch fangblenny bites bigger fish and releases an opioid-based venom. The larger fish becomes disoriented, and the little guy gets away.

Measuring the quality of those little swimmers usually requires a trip to the doctor. Researchers have come up with a smartphone accessory that would let men do that at home in less than five seconds.

The tardigrade, a strange animal smaller than a grain of sand and with hooks for feet, can survive in a dried-up state for a decade. Its secret might help improve how drugs are shipped and stored.

Frogs are unmatched in their speed and ability to catch prey. It's all about their super-soft tongue and specialized saliva, say researchers, who got saliva to test by scraping frogs' tongues.