The Discovery Files

A chemistry professor at Princeton University has developed a process that allows ordinary iron to be used as a substitute catalyst in certain reactions that up till now have required precious metals.

Researchers at the Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati have discovered why plants and animals had a hard time recovering from the largest mass extinction in Earth's history 250 million years ago.

A study by Harvard University researchers finds that when it comes to the health of forests, native plants and wildlife, the best management decision may be to do nothing.

Scientists at the University of Akron discover that spiders' design mastery allows them to create webs that stick to the ground and to elevated surfaces differently.

Research from Cornell University indicates that getting rid of insects could trigger some unwelcome ecological consequences, such as the rapid loss of desired traits in plants, including their good taste and high yields.

Researchers from Rice University, Bell Labs, and Yale have created a multi-antenna technology that could help wireless providers keep pace with the voracious demands of data-hungry smartphones and tablets.

Researchers at Oregon State University for the first time have confirmed some of the mechanisms by which overfishing and nitrate pollution can contribute to the destruction of coral reefs.

Johns Hopkins researchers have created a synthetic protein that, when activated by ultraviolet light, can guide doctors to places within the body where cancer, arthritis and other serious medical disorders can be detected.

Scientists at UMass-Amherst report the discovery of an antibacterial coating for surgical sutures that is almost 1,000 times more effective than the most widely used commercial coating.

A Florida Institute of Technology biologist has new research that finds predatory crabs poised to return to warming Antarctic waters and disrupt the primeval marine communities that have lived there for millions of years.

Princeton University researchers have found a mysterious region deep in the human brain could be where we sort through the onslaught of stimuli from the outside world and focus on the information most important to our behavior and survival.

Researchers from Arizona State University and the National Center for Atmospheric Research conduct a study attempting to quantify the impact of rapidly expanding megapolitan areas on regional climate.

Enormous volcanic super-eruptions with the potential to end civilizations have surprisingly short fuses, Vanderbilt University researchers have discovered.

Study, which was conducted by a team of 71 researchers from 12 countries, reveals potentially large influences of fungi, one of the most biologically diverse classes of organisms, on our energy supplies.

Scientists at the Hubbard Brook Long Term Ecological Research Site discover that a combination of today's higher atmospheric carbon dioxide level and its atmospheric fallout is altering the hydrology and water quality of forested watersheds.