Surprisingly little is known about the behavior of cars and drivers in uncontrolled, real-world accidents, despite rigorous testing in laboratory-controlled crashes. Now, a first-of-its-kind ...

In the span of just a few decades, China has transformed into a science and technology superpower. But how did it get here and where is it headed? Take an insider’s tour of high-profile tech companies ...

Receive emails about upcoming NOVA programs and related content, as well as featured reporting about current events through a science lens.

Where would we be without the world’s alphabets? Writing has played a vital role in the development and expansion of cultures throughout history. But researchers are only now uncovering the origin ...

Barter is the exchange of resources or services for mutual advantage, and may date back to the beginning of humankind. Some would even argue that it's not purely a human activity; plants and animals ...

When the Romans first came to northern Scotland in the first century A.D., they found the Highlands occupied by fierce, tattoo-covered tribes they called the Picts, or painted people. From the carved, ...

The United States has experimented with democracy for 250 years, but our system of government was once a radical idea, born in ancient Greece. Ravaged by civil war and tyranny 2,500 years ago, the ...

Patterns of lines and dots associated with specific animal species in cave art may point to an early writing system. The four dots painted across the back of this aurochs (wild ox) in the Lascaux cave ...

To the nervous system, memories and chronic pain are strikingly similar. Can we use the same technique to erase them? ByEleanor Nelson Wednesday, August 13, 2014 NOVA NextNOVA Next Nerve cells, like ...

Once you’ve seen a slime mold—its gooey, delicately branching structure oozing in a vaguely unsettling way along a log or leaf—you’re unlikely to forget it. They’re unmistakable because there’s ...

An electrical engineer works on Form Energy's 2022 battery module in the company's lab in Berkeley, California. Image courtesy of Form Energy Share Weirton, West Virginia has iron in its blood. The ...

Chris Mazurek was a freshman in college when he had a dream that he was inside the Legends of Zelda video game. He saw himself as the main protagonist, Link, in third person. Suddenly, beeping noises ...