UC Berkeley

The good news is that there's a vast ocean of water under the surface of Mars – enough to cover the entire planet to a depth of a mile (1.6 km). The bad news is that this repository is so deep and unreachable that it might as well be in another galaxy.

The first study to measure the concentration of metals in tampons has found that several brands contain concerning amounts of lead, arsenic and cadmium. More research is needed to determine whether the presence of these toxic metals poses a health risk.

They've lived on earth for 280 million years at least, but starfish – or sea stars – remain a huge mystery in biology. Now, long-held beliefs regarding their unique design have been upended, as genetics reveal they're not all arms but nearly all head.

A new study has uncovered the mechanism by which the brain waves produced during deep sleep can predict blood glucose control. The discovery highlights the importance of sleep in managing diabetes and offers a novel way of mapping the disease.

If your local hummingbird is getting a bit aggressive, it may have a drinking problem. A recent study by University of California, Berkeley biologist Robert Dudley indicates that, along with nectar, hummingbirds get alcohol from flowers and feeders.

Dome-skulled dinosaurs may have looked less like Friar Tuck and more like the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. New fossil finds suggest they may have had big bristly ornaments on their heads, and might not have butted heads like they do in the movies.

Could salt, one of the oldest preservatives around, help keep carbon deep underground for thousands of years? Researchers believe it can, and that it might offer a way forward in containing a gas that's a major contributor to climate change.

Can we take shortcuts on nature’s blueprint and make more efficient synthetic proteins? A new study finds simple combos of synthetic building blocks can make for protein alternatives that work just as well as, or even better than, the real thing.

The tiny Pacific mole crab (Emerita analoga) has a unique talent, in that it can burrow straight down into the sand using its flexible legs. An experimental new robot copies that capability, and it could actually have some practical applications.

Ordinarily, quadcopter drones have to tilt their front end downward when flying forward, increasing their frontal area and thus increasing drag. An experimental new drone gets around this problem, by only tilting its rotors.

Old electronics are tricky to recycle, meaning they clog up landfills while locking valuable metals away. Now scientists have demonstrated printed circuits that can be degraded on demand, returning their materials to reusable forms.

We’re all maybe a bit surly after a sleepless night, but a new study suggests our levels of day-to-day selfishness can be directly related to how well rested we are, and these findings could have implications on both individual and societal levels.