Greetings, E.T. (Please Don’t Murder Us.)

See a Caterpillar Transform Into a Butterfly Up Close

Soon after giving birth, mothers typically experience a self-esteem dip lasting at least three years

US planning to create ‘Space Corps’ as sixth branch of armed forces

On this day in 1959, three men who all thought they were Jesus walked into a room

NASA’s Juno Spacecraft to Fly Over Jupiter’s Great Red Spot July 10

A Small Circle in Asia Contains More Than Half the World’s Population

How a Speck of Light Becomes an Asteroid

Maximum human lifespan could far exceed 115 years – new research

With a Better Brain, Curiosity Mars Rover Picks Its Own Targets

On this day in 1971 a Soyuz spacecraft decompressed, exposing 3 cosmonauts to near-vacuum

Now in HD: the Earth’s Turbulent Core

Video: Biography of Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, painter of the world-famous “The Great Wave”

Japan reveals plans to put a man on moon by 2030

Pesticides damage survival of bee colonies, landmark study shows

Why my guitar gently weeps: The slow, secret death of the six-string electric

Inside the dangerous operation to smuggle free information into North Korea

Skull fragments with carved long, deliberate lines found at [9,000 year old temple] Gobekli Tepe

A near-disaster at a federal nuclear weapons laboratory takes a hidden toll on America’s arsenal

2017 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest Part 1

The rover that will store rock samples on Mars

A new study shows sex doesn’t actually sell

On this day in 1905, a doctor attempted to converse with a freshly severed head

Tick saliva ‘gold mine’ blocks killer heart condition

A Beginner’s Guide to Calling BS

Astronomers Detect Orbital Motion in Pair of Supermassive Black Holes

Deepest Dive Ever Under Antarctica Reveals a Shockingly Vibrant World

Video shows that the sound of human voices is enough to terrify cougars away from their hunted prey

Study: Living near noisy roads could make it harder to get pregnant

A photographer swimming among hundreds of sperm whales witnesses a rarely seen social spectacle

Court orders Salvador Dalí’s body be exhumed for paternity test

Video: The discovery and exploration of an ancient cypress forest 60 feet underwater in the Gulf of Mexico

On this day in 1945, stakeholders in AM radio succeeded in ruining the inventor of FM radio

Concorde without the cacophony: NASA thinks it’s cracked quiet supersonic flight

“…as the smartphone becomes more noticeable, participants’ available cognitive capacity decreases”

Ravens Hold Grudges Against Cheaters

Video: A demonstration of hydrodynamic levitation

Adultery, false identities, and a lethal sedation: a baroque courtroom drama unfolds in upstate New York

Antibacterial soaps may do more harm than good, scientists warn

ALMA captures an image of the surface of Betelgeuse

A surprisingly simple explanation for the shape of bird eggs

A Visual History of Supernova Discovery

The secret lives of young IS fighters

Would Your Dog Eat You if You Died?

Psychologists Open a Window on Brutal C.I.A. Interrogations

Who Is Causing All the Fires in San Francisco? An investigation by the oft-interesting Jon Ronson

Beyond the Five Senses: Telepathy, echolocation, and the future of perception

Brain-Invading Tapeworm That Eluded Doctors Spotted by New DNA Test

In Defectors From the North, Doctors in South Korea Find Hope — and Data

The quantum view of reality might not be so weird after all

Trained to Kill: How Four Boy Soldiers Survived Boko Haram

Fake online stores reveal gamblers’ shadow banking system

Photos: Alexander Graham Bell’s Tetrahedral Kites

Why British English is full of silly-sounding words

The doctors who assist in suicide on what it’s like to end a life

Weird orbits hint ‘Planet Ten’ might lurk at solar system edge

FBI investigated a group of Dungeons and Dragons players as part of the Unabomber case

Scientists solve mystery of unexplained “bright nights”

The geeks are inherent at birth: older men have geekier sons, study finds

Video: High-quality footage of New York City from 1911