Scientists at Work

Remembering one passionate entomologist who poetically described and classified more than 70 species' painful stings.

An enchanting natural phenomenon in a daunting place.

Exotic saffron, black pepper, ginger, cloves, and more offer a look into how Scandinavian royalty lived.

A marine reptile fossil from Svalbard challenges ideas about evolution and Earth’s greatest mass extinction.

What's it like to "very probably" witness extinction?

Renowned entomologist Frank Nischk remembers when the determined insects tried to invade a field station.

Long relegated to historical oblivion, this reinvigorated community is now pursuing deeper stories about their ancestors.

For some species, mating season means detachable penises, urine-based perfumes, and ear-splitting declarations of love.

Scientists fitted the famously bitey marsupials with tiny accelerometers to learn their secrets.

At the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Lab in Corvallis, massive simulators allow researchers to test innovative ideas about sustainable energy, saving coastlines, and more.

A wildlife ecologist specializing in large carnivores unfolds a mystery for listeners.

A conservation biologist in Argentina once hosted one of the animals in her living room, but finding them in the wild has proven far more difficult.

Examining whether a ruler slipped through the cracks of a tumultuous century.

This year, we met creatures (and other living things) great and small, from the world’s largest organism to microscopic parasites.

From engineering VR terror to tracking tipsy monkeys, we love watching researchers at work.

From a 'happiness farmer' to dauntless vets, we met people rekindling hope through perseverance and innovation.

Across the archipelago, scientists and citizens are uniting against the tiny terrors, deploying an arsenal of creative weapons.

The monstrous menace known as Whatcheeria hints that our distant ancestors may have been more like us than we thought.