Miners and tourists alike are contaminating Argentina's caves, say scientists, who warn that fragile underground ecosystems and archaeological sites are at risk.
This week: Al Gore interview, wasps' "pepper spray" weapon, pre-Inca tomb discovery, chemical secret of Stradivarius violins, new butterfly species, and more.
Extreme rains, interspersed with droughts, could spell disaster for the country's agriculture-based economy, according to research spanning five decades of data.
The boy king likely died from an infection stemming from a broken thigh bone, researchers announced, possibly bringing to a close one of history's oldest cold cases.
More proof that if Mama's not happy, nobody's happy: Watch an alpha female diplay her power in a troupe of bonobo apes, and learn how such mighty moms raise their babies.
A landslide on Mount Etna triggered killer waves along the Mediterranean coast from Italy to Egypt, likely wiping out entire Stone Age settlements, a new study says.
U.S. officials are looking in the wrong place to stop bird flu, suggests a new study, which questions the usefulness of testing Alaskan birds migrating from Russia.
Weblogs from dangerous regions of Africa, Borneo, and beyond are allowing isolated rangers and other conservationists unprecedented lifelines to each other and the outside world.
Archaeologists in England have uncovered a treasure trove of Roman artifacts, including a 1,700-year-old "curse tablet" that asks for divine vengeance for a stolen cloak.
Beginning today U.S. pilots will have more reliable information about the threat of icing—an airborne condition that has caused hundreds of plane-crash fatalities.
Urban birds sing higher, shorter songs than forest-dwelling birds of the same species, likely to compete with traffic and other background noise, a new study says.
NASA released images today that reveal water likely flowed through Martian gullies within the past few years, providing a "squirting gun" of liquid water's presence on the red planet.
Curing blindness and treating diabetes "naturally" in mice are just two of the recent breakthroughs that suggest stem cells hold real potential for helping humans.
Gene Simmons, eat your heart out. A newfound bat's tongue can stretch to one and a half times the length of its body, and now scientists think they know why.
Mel Gibson's movie puts a fictional face on the collapse of the Maya Empire. Now see what the civilization really looked like, according to National Geographic artists and ancient murals.
A deadly synergy between HIV and malaria appears to be fueling the spread of both diseases in Africa, where 4 million people die from the illnesses each year.
The emergence of "female labor roles" played an important role in evolutionary history, a new study says, and might have helped modern humans edge out Neandertals.
Ireland's Newgrange monument continues to baffle archaeologists even as thousands battle every year for a chance to celebrate the winter solstice in the tomb's main chamber.
Human rights organizations and the diamond industry are working on ways to keep "conflict diamonds"—those sold to fund armed conflict—off the international market.
The fossil called Little Foot, which had tantalized scientists with its human- and apelike features, is a million years younger than had been thought, a new study says.
Replay the year in science, nature, and exploration with 2006's top ten videos, from the plight of African elephants to some of the animal kingdom's mightiest battles.
Who's buried in St. Paul's tomb? Archaeologists still don't know for sure. But they do know that a newfound sarcophagus was his at some point, the Vatican says.
The Gospel of Judas unveiled. A "lost world" of animals discovered. Explore these and other highlights of the year in nature, science, and exploration with our most popular news stories of 2006.
If global warming continues unabated, melting ice could trigger a positive feedback loop that would cause sea ice to decline steadily for decades and then abruptly disappear.
Scientists have discovered a "microworld" of life trapped in tiny drops of Italian amber. The ancient germs lived over 200 million years ago, when the first dinosaurs appeared.
Looking like a fanged flying squirrel, the newfound mammal species glided 70 million years before any other, and maybe even before birds, a new study says.
People born with an insensitivity to pain could help researchers understand how pain works and one day develop new painkillers with fewer side effects.
The Chinese river dolphin—nicknamed the "goddess of the Yangtze"—is "functionally extinct," scientists said after a vain six-week search for the animal.
Who says superheroes don't exist? In China a towering shepherd used his extra-long arms to pull plastic from two dolphins' bellies—succeeding where veterinarians had been powerless.
Using a formula based more on observation than physics, researchers predict that sea level will jump as much as 55 inches (140 centimeters) above baseline levels by 2100.
This week: Arctic sea ice may be gone in summer by 2040, no-pain disorder decoded, mammal may have glided before birds, wild new species discovered, and more.
Where did 2005's worst U.S. storm come from? How did it develop? And why was it so deadly? Go behind the headlines with National Geographic News's Katrina video rewind.
Spurred on by new evidence of water, experts announced plans to use powerful cameras to seek rock-solid proof that the liquid hasn't stopped flowing on Mars.
Recent sightings of the ivory-bill—believed extinct for 50 years—have experts hopeful the species can make a comeback if its forest habitat gets better protection.
Liberating chimpanzees with soldiers at her side, performing surgeries in the wild, and demonizing ape-meat traders, Sheri Speede is helping change the way a nation looks at apes.
Fleeing militias with thousands of other boys, John Dau walked for years with no destination. Now in the U.S., he struggles with culture shock but has found his direction.
Troves of new species, a dolphin showing some "leg," India's first new bird in 50 years—and a warning that seafood will be gone by 2048. It's been an up-and-down year for animal lovers.
Endangered whooping cranes following ultralights completed their Wisconsin-to-Florida trip—capping a milestone year for the effort to reestablish a migrating population.
From a miniature fish to three new types of tree, the Southeast Asian island boasts a variety of creatures found within the past year alone, a WWF study concludes.
Get a firsthand account of the harrowing capture and interrogation of U.S. journalist Paul Salopek in Darfur—and learn why he thinks it's vital he return to Africa.
Purported pyramids, giant jellyfish, and a number of pythons that swallowed more than they bargained for were among the stars of this year's most popular news photos.
Strange specimens of natural glass found in the Egyptian desert are products of a meteorite slamming into Earth between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago, scientists say.
This week: 52 new species found in Borneo, rare river dolphin 'extinct," giant dinosaur discovered, lizard has "virgin birth," "Apocalypto" tortures Maya history, and more.
A plant-eating dinosaur measuring up to 120 feet (37 meters) in length and weighing as much as 48 tons once roamed all across Europe, Spanish fossil hunters say.
The dozens of bonfires lit every Christmas Eve near New Orleans aren't just guides for Santa Claus and churchgoers. Some unusual bonfire designs are also helping the city heal from its recent wounds.
A dead star with an unusual ring of metal-rich gas could be a vision of the future for researchers wondering what our solar system will look like in several billion years.
A trained soldier by the age of eight, Emmanuel Jal is now a young recording artist who uses the power of music to tell stories about the horrors of war and the capacity to heal.
He's one jolly rancher. Meet the U.S. Marine Corps veteran who turned an unusual retirement plan into a passion for raising the iconic Christmas animals.
For Mark Hanis, the grandson of four Holocaust survivors, "never again" isn't just an idle promise. He founded the Genocide Intervention Network to help save the people of Darfur.
A six-part National Geographic video series explores the countless lives irrevocably changed by conflict in Sudan's Darfur region—from journalists to war veterans, photographers to refugees.
Take a journey up the world's tallest mountain, and get a glimpse of how the latest technology is making climbing Everest at least a little less dangerous.
Learn more about what some have dubbed Ford's "accidental" presidency, from his stumbling reputation to the presidential pardon that likely cost him the 1976 election.
A proposal to list polar bears as threatened with extinction because their sea ice habitat is melting—possibly due to global warming—may lead to federal curbs on greenhouse gas emissions.
Sensors attached to the neck and chin can relay electrical signals to software that converts them into words that haven't been said out loud, NASA researchers report.
Learn in this exclusive 2003 interview why Gerald Ford takes issue with historians that claim his presidency did little other than offer a chance to heal after the Watergate scandal.
Hop aboard a canoe drifting down Florida's Ichetucknee River, and see the sparkling waters and rich array of animals that conservationists are fighting to protect.
Thousands of firecrackers, elaborate multicultural feasts, and good luck rituals are all key elements of ringing in the New Year for Hawaii's diverse residents.
A massive "tongue" of ice believed to be 3,000 to 4,500 years old snapped off Ellesmere Island, yet another indicator of global warming, scientists say.
He started out life not as Gerald R. Ford but as Leslie King, the son of a violent and abusive father. Hear the story of his dramatic escape in this exclusive 2003 interview.
This week: polar bears considered for U.S. endangered list, two-headed fossil found in China, record number of captive panda births, giant squid caught alive in Japan, and more.
See a roundup of the week's news and events, from a sandy Santa in India to the death of a U.S. president and the launch of a European "planet-finder."
