The enormous, stinking titan arum, or corpse flower, draws huge crowds to botanical gardens worldwide, who come to catch a rare glimpse, and whiff, of the world's largest inflorescence. Now, as a multitude of new cultivated specimens thrive, botanists are breaking old records for size and longevity, and probing the science of the plant as never before.

Elusive and cannibalistic, the Humboldt squid has a reputation so fearsome that it has earned the nickname "red devil." But to William Gilly, a biology professor at Stanford University, the mysterious squid is a beautiful sea creature that provides important ecological clues. Devils of the Deep, a National Geographic Ultimate Explorer adventure, airs this Sunday on MSNBC.

Giant rock art murals in hundreds of shelters and caves in Baja California Sur, Mexico, date back as far as 7,500 years ago, according to an ongoing study. Whoever the painters were they came well before the Aztecs established their culture in central Mexico in the 12th century A.D.

Researchers are developing a sonar system to help boaters steer off a collision course with the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus Linneaus). The technology could be the difference between population growth and decline in the endangered species.

Later this summer, undersea explorer Robert Ballard and a team of scientists will embark on a 40-day expedition to the Black Sea and Mediterranean. Among their tools will be Hercules, an innovative remotely operated vehicle equipped with mechanical arms and fingers capable of excavating shipwrecks and undersea archaeological sites.

Wildlife specialists are headed to Kenya's Masailand to get a precise measure of the current lion population and attempt to broker a peace between the predators and livestock owners. The project is supported by the National Geographic Society Conservation Trust and the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund.

At the National Aquarium in Baltimore, researchers are working with a pair of 4-foot-long nurse sharks to investigate how the creature's immune system responds to the anthrax bacterium. The approach may serve as a template for developing other tools to detect other bio-weapons.

On the "Voyage to Kure," Jean-Michel Cousteau hopes "to discover new territories, new groups, new species" in the remote and rarely visited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Given the islands' isolation, range of unique species, and relatively unexplored waters, Cousteau's film should indeed be full of discoveries.

Why do we know more about our cars than our bodies? There are gauges and sensors in our cars to measure temperature, oil, and gas levels, yet there is no dashboard for the human body. This story airs tonight on our U.S. cable television program National Geographic Today.

Riding on the coattails of the organic-gardening boom, moon gardening is waxing brighter with growing numbers of gardeners. The age-old practice is based on the moon's gravitational effect on the flow of moisture in soil and plants.

Neglected for 20 years on the dusty shelves of a South African university, scientists have re-discovered the 215 million-year-old fossil bones of a new dinosaur species, one of the first true giants. Antetonitrus ingenipes may be a missing link between small two-legged ancestors and the colossal plant-eaters that followed.

In 1961, Wally Funk, was one of 13 women slated for the "Women in Space" program—until NASA abruptly cancelled it. Today Funk, 64, is the rocket pilot for Interorbital Systems and still hopes to fly in space. This story airs tonight on our U.S. cable television program National Geographic Today.

Two recent studies highlight key aspects of animal social behavior, offering insight as to how, why, and with whom certain animals opt to cooperate. One showed carrion crows actively seek to nest near kin. Another, revealed the "rock-paper-scissors" hierarchy of blue, yellow, and orange side-blotched lizards.

While most mammals, including humans, have lost the ability to see ultraviolet light, rodents haven't. A new study suggests UV vision helps rodents see urine scent markers, a key form of communication.

Hundreds of scientists and volunteers combed Central Park on a recent 24-hour marathon to catalogue every living species they could find. Some climbed trees; others dove muck-filled ponds. "It's not just pigeons and rats, but a pretty good cross section of wildlife," said one participant.