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Researchers studying the human brain shared a lot of fascinating research this year, like how to keep brains young and how to reduce inflammation in joints.

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Drugs like Adderall and Ritalin appear to help children with ADHD by activating brain areas involved in alertness and motivation. (Image credit: Benjamin Kay)

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Cuts to scientific research focused disproportionately on research around diversity equity and inclusion. Some researchers say we're just beginning to understand the impact.

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Household waste increases by 25% between Thanksgiving and New Years. Rules vary by municipality on what you can recycle and what needs to go into the trash. (Image credit: Anna Moneymaker)

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It's the day after Christmas, so here's your official reminder of what holiday detritus can and cannot be recycled.

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Snow isn't always white; algae can make it look green, red, or orange, and scientists are trying to understand how and why these colorful patches appear.

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Organoids are bits of neural tissue that model human brain development. Their use in science makes some uneasy, in part because the brain is so closely tied to our sense of self.

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Emily Kwong and Berly McCoy of NPR's Short Wave talk about why swearing might improve physical performance, how birds' bills changed during the pandemic and why scientists are sampling whale breath.

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Blue spotted salamanders have been seen walking across snow and new research suggests how they get by in the cold. (Image credit: Peter Paplanus)

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Scientists have developed an experimental way to study how human embryos implant in a uterus, which may provide new insights into why miscarriages occur and how they can be prevented. (Image credit: Matteo Molè at the Babraham Institute.)

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Trump administration officials say changes to federal agencies engaged in science were made in the interests of better science that benefits more Americans. Many scientists we spoke with disagree.

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Officials said the error is likely be too minute for the general public to clock it, but it could affect applications such as critical infrastructure, telecommunications and GPS signals. (Image credit: J. Sherman, R. Jacobson)

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Researchers retrieved reef monitoring devices that had been placed in deep coral reefs in Guam. The devices were placed up to 330 feet below the surface. (Image credit: California Academy of Sciences)

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Trump withdrew Isaacman's nomination in May, citing the billionaire's donations to Democrats and ties to Elon Musk. He was renominated last month and confirmed by a 67-30 Senate vote on Wednesday. (Image credit: Anna Moneymaker)

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A nature photographer stumbled upon thousands of 210-million-year-old dinosaur tracks in Italy's central Alps, near where some Olympic skiing and snowboarding events will be held in February.

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The etymology of mistletoe — a plant with small, oval evergreen leaves and waxy white berries — may strike some as repugnant. (Image credit: Gerry Cranham/Getty Images)

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A new program at the Department of Energy is pushing the development of nearly a dozen new reactor designs at breakneck speed. (Image credit: Idaho National Laboratory)

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Scientist Julie Jung set out on a hike along the Great Salt Lake to find nematodes. She ended up discovering a new species.

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This year's Arctic Report Card from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration finds that the northernmost part of the Earth is warming faster than the global average, leading to melting glaciers, shifting fish populations, and...

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The Geminids meteor shower appears every December, but it will peak this year on Saturday, the 13th. (Image credit: Ye Aung Thu)

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There are roughly 2.5 million known species on the planet, but scientists estimate that's only a fraction of the biodiversity on Earth. A new study shows we're finding new species like never before.

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Researchers at the University of California San Francisco track how abortion comes up on television. They say the trends from 2025 are concerning. (Image credit: Warner Bros. Discovery)

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Sensors and artificial intelligence help a prosthetic hand act more like a natural one, new research shows. (Image credit: Dave Titensor)

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The Oreo-sized baby turtle represents a turning point in Rockalina's recovery: Spending time with her own kind. (Image credit: Garden State Tortoise)

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Regina Barber and Emily Kwong of NPR's Short Wave discuss an Earth-sized exoplanet, how ant colonies deal with disease and a possible link between volcanoes and the Black Death.

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While many modern plants use colorful flowers to attract pollinators, ancient palm-like plants called cycads lure them by heating up and glowing in the infrared. (Image credit: Michael Calonje)

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Archaeologists in Britain say they've found the earliest evidence of humans making fires anywhere in the world. The discovery moves our understanding of when humans started making fire back by 350,000 years. (Image credit: Jordan...

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Two years after residents voted to reintroduce wolves in Colorado, ranchers there say too many of their cows are being killed. The state is now hiring people on horseback to help.

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A new study suggests humans were deliberately starting and using fires more than 400,000 years ago.

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Death cap mushrooms look harmless, but are responsible for the majority of the world's mushroom-related deaths. California officials say 21 people have been sickened in recent weeks, one fatally. (Image credit: William West)

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Clocks tick faster on Mars than they do on Earth, in part because Mars experiences less gravitational pull from the Sun. Now scientists have calculated just how much faster -- 477 microseconds, on average.

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Historically, Black bears were the biggest predator to travel the Big Bend area of Texas. But overhunting and habitat loss led to their decline. (Image credit: Carlos Morales)

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An environmental group is leading a call for Congress to place a moratorium on the construction of new data centers used to power artificial intelligence.

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After a water plant in Louisville, Kentucky, saw a spike in a certain "forever chemical," their quest for answers led them hundreds of miles away. They now hope the government will help prevent it.

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There are roughly 2.5 million known species on the planet, but scientists estimate that's only a fraction of the biodiversity on Earth. A new study shows we're finding new species like never before.

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Astronomers have long been concerned about reflections from satellites showing up in images taken by telescopes and other scientific instruments. (Image credit: NASA via)

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Elephant seals don't forget their enemies. We learn about the great beasts' big beefs and why they matter.

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A 23-million-year-old rhinoceros fossil is reshaping scientists' understanding of mammal evolution. (Image credit: Pierre Poirier)

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Brief glitches in video calls may seem like no big deal, but new research shows they can have a negative effect on how a person is perceived by the viewer. (Image credit: gpointstudio/iStockphoto)

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A group in Western Washington state has developed a novel gauge for their forest conservation work — thousands of audio recordings of native birds.

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A new study finds that domestic cats originated from North African wildcats and reached Europe far more recently than previously thought.

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India's olive ridley turtle numbers appear to have rebounded after years of patchwork efforts to stem their decline. Can it last? (Image credit: Diaa Hadid)

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Before you share your Thanksgiving leftovers with your pet, here's what's safe -- and what's not -- to feed your cats and dogs.

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Emily Kwong and Regina Barber of NPR's Short Wave podcast talk about the evolutionary history of kissing, how moss spores fare in space, and new clues about the collision that created the moon.

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New research shows feverish temperatures make it more difficult for viruses to hijack our cells. A mouse study suggests it's the heat itself that makes the difference. (Image credit: Cavan Images)

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NASA has made sure that the International Space Station is well stocked for a Thanksgiving meal full of treats. Here's what's on the menu. (Image credit: NASA webcast)

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A chance discovery by a NASA rover on Mars shows that the red planet has a form of lightning, which researchers had suspected for decades but never seen. (Image credit: NASA/JPL/Caltech/University of Arizona)

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A new study finds that about half of the physical variation seen in modern dogs existed during the Stone Age. (Image credit: Stephanie Keith)

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Even amid rising grocery prices and increased sensitivity to environmental issues, Americans still trash once-edible food at alarming rates. (Image credit: Keren Carrion)

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Much of the turkey's early history is shrouded in uncertainty, historians and etymologists say — which is particularly true of how the bird got its name. (Image credit: Anna Moneymaker)