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Newly-described hermit crab species makes permanent homes out of coral -- a first

This hermit crab is no hobo.

The Milky Way might not be your typical spiral galaxy but is it unique?

The Milky Way just got an ego boost.

Nobody is going to make coal great again, says Bloomberg New Energy Finance founder

Sorry, bro.

Biologists find genetic master switch for the butterfly's wing color

Only two genes code both the canvas and paintbrush for the intricate butterfly wing patterns.

Artificial muscle lifts 1,000 times its own weight, brings us closer to humanoid bots

A step closer to forging our new robotic overlords.

Hurricane Maria "destroys Puerto Rico" -- 100% of the state left without power

This is an abnormally strong hurricane season.

Ancient frog with a big appetite may have preyed on small dinosaurs

It bit with the force of wolves or female tigers.

Designer Oscar Lhermitte brings the moon to your fingertips

You can't get any more lunar than this without leaving the planet.

Fourteen thousand plant species have been discovered in the Amazon rainforest

This is the first time that anyone has compiled a full list.

That study about larvae eating plastic is full of holes

More research needs to be done.

New NOAA report: This is shaping up to be the 2nd hottest year in human history

Damn, it always sucks when you come in second.

Cats are both solid and liquid -- and other surprising tidbits of science from the Ig Nobel Awards

Cats really *are* liquid... but only sometimes.

Bacterial defenders discovered inside cancer cells, breaking down chemo drugs

Tricksy hobbitses!

Not too big and not too small: when faced with extinction, it pays off to be just the right size

Big and small animals are the most threatened by extinction.

After exploring Venus' dark side, scientists find unexpected weather

Strange things happen in the dark.

Seal hitches a ride on the back of a whale

Sometimes, you just hitch a ride on a whale.

Biologists just discovered an underwater octopus city -- they call it Octlantis

Ever wondered what an octopus city looks like?

Hurricane Maria also becomes Category 5 storm, threatens more destruction

It's quickly following in Irma's footsteps.

Scientists just turned light-based information into readable soundwaves

It's like storing lightning in thunder.

Odd Jupiter-sized exoplanet is hot enough to melt metal but paradoxically pitch-black

It's the 'blackest' planet we've found.

What a biologist learned after letting an electric eel zap him

It's like getting tasered -- nine times. At the same time. Professor Catania has the measurements to prove it.

Democracy is failing in the West, scientists warn

Only 19% of young Americans think it's wrong for the military to take over the government if it's incompetent or doesn't do it's job.

A linguistic rouzy-bouzy: Researchers resurrect 30 English lost words

Don't be a losenger!

Finnish project aims to turn sawdust into fish food and tackle world hunger

Teach a man to chemically process sawdust into the building blocks of life to feed his fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

The devastating state of ocean pollution in one depressing photo

The author wishes this photo 'didn't exist'.

"Nothing" changed: ancient Indian text pushes the history of zero back 500 years

As far as modern tech and know-how is concerned, zero is the hero.

Cassini spacecraft ends 20-year-old voyage in style, crashes into Saturn

We had a good run!

Why Was Texas so Susceptible to Hurricane Harvey and How Does Climate Change Contribute?

The connection to climate change is more intricate than you'd think.

The Mars Terraformer Transfer (MATT):  what it is and how we’d use it

Terraformation need not engineer an entire planetary surface. The Lake Matthew Team introduces their audacious invention.

Follow the last 30 years of humanity shaping the planet through the eyes of Google's Timelapse

Bird's eye view.

Gravity map reveals Martian crust might be lighter than we thought

Mars may be more porous than we thought.

Main asteroid belt might be a dump for planetary leftovers, new theory proposes

A strikingly different take on the asteroid belt's origin.

Elephants increasingly become more nocturnal to evade poachers

The intelligent animals have responded to poaching by shifting their foraging patterns.

Gemstones prove asteroid impact was the hottest event ever recorded on Earth

That spot is not a lake in cold, snow-covered Canada.

New record: on Monday, 20% of Europe's energy came from wind

Gone with the wind.

The first water map on the moon shines hope for human colony

There's less water than in Earth's driest deserts. But that's still a lot more than we used to hope.

Climate change might cause a coffee crisis, but there's still hope

Is it really that bad?

Bacteria shapeshift in space in response to antibiotics, becoming far more resilient

Not good news for interplanetary travel.

Volkswagen is investing 70 billion Euros into electric vehicles

Time to make amends, VW.

ISS astronaut photographs hurricanes from space -- and it's mind-bending

Like the all-seeing eye, Bresnik takes impressive photos of ungodly storms.

An image is not always worth a thousand words, researchers say

Go with text if you really want to involve people.

Ugly Unicorn: Metal-tipped prehistoric ant drank the blood of its victims for dinner

Stabby stabby!

Wrapping paper-like spacecraft might one day collect junk and throw it into Earth's atmospheric shredder

This may be crazy enough to work.

Death of a dynasty: west North America lost over 95% of its monarch butterflies in 35 years

One of the continent's most dazzling displays dies with them.

Global warming will kill a third of the world's parasites, and that's not even a good thing

Parasites are a hard sell, but we would certainly gain a lot by understanding their threats.

Burger-flipping robot will grill meat in 50 fast food restaurants

This will set you back $100k.

U.S. News rankings driving economic inequality on campus

Top universities admit more 1% earners than the bottom 60% combined.

What's the difference between Alzheimer's and Dementia?

Dementia is a syndrome while Alzheimer's is a disease. More key differences between the two after the jump.

Egyptian Archaeologists find 3,500 year old multi-tomb in Luxor

You thought we found everything, didn't you?

Elon Musk shares full-body pic of SpaceX's sleek astronaut suit

Space flight just got a lot sexier.