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Pitcher plants have evolved independently on three different continents. But new research shows they use many of the same tools to catch and eat their prey.

Global temperatures soared above the 20th century average last year, as the climate continues to change. It's the hottest it has been since scientists started tracking global temperatures in 1880.

This new knot has eight crossings, far more than previous molecular knots. The "rope" is very short — just 192 atoms long, or 500 times smaller than a red blood cell.

Killer whales are one of only three species known to have menopause. Researchers are looking at the conflict and cooperation between older and younger female whales to understand why.

President-elect Donald Trump has not provided many specifics about what he plans to do with NASA. But private companies are expected to take a bigger role in space travel in the coming years.

As 2016 winds down, we take a moment to contemplate the billions of years that led to 2017 and the billions more yet to come.

We like to think our universe is unique but if there can be one, then why not more? Some thinkers worry that pondering the so-called multi-verse is more like philosophy, not science.

All this week, we've been contemplating the great mysteries of the universe. Scientists really only understand about 5 percent of what the universe is made of.

Morning Edition is asking questions about the universe, part of an effort to put things in perspective. We hear from scientists who ponder what shape the universe has and whether it is truly infinite.

One of the greatest mysteries is where the universe came from. Scientists know one thing for sure: The universe plays by its own rules.

A new study involving blimps, nets and radar beams reveals the staggering number of insects that fly above us each year in their seasonal migrations.

By comparing the light from anti-atoms with the light from regular atoms, they hope to answer one of the big mysteries of our universe: Why is there so much regular old matter and not much antimatter?

Monkeys weren't thought to have the right sort of vocal tracts to speak. But a study finds they can make many sounds common in human speech; it's just that their brains aren't "language ready."

Scientists have found the oldest complete set of smallpox genes in a sample of skin from a mummified child in a crypt underneath a Lithuanian church.

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the incoming administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt is a self-avowed opponent of what he calls "the EPA's activist agenda."

Pruitt has made no secret of his disdain for the Environmental Protection Agency — his official biography calls him "a leading advocate against the EPA's activist agenda."

Searching for alien life is harder than you might think, because whatever is out there might be really odd. So leading astrobiologists are meeting to advise NASA on how to go about looking for it.

Commercial labs can now make the large, clear diamonds people prize for engagement rings and other jewelry in as little as 72 hours. How will this change the diamond industry?

The longest-living vertebrate known to science is a shark that can live centuries. This story originally aired on Aug. 11, 2016 on All Things Considered.

Myron Ebell has been chosen to lead the president-elect's transition team for the Environmental Protection Agency. Ebell is a well known climate change skeptic.