A day in the life of a bedbug exterminator

Bug-bitten and bedeviled: a delightful dive into the bedbug

Bedbugs can live up to 6 months without food—meaning they can lurk in your bedroom while you try to eradicate them and give you a sense that you've effectively annihilated them. What else do we know about these pesky little pests? This deep, deep...

Why bean leaves are an effective bedbug pesticide

No one wants a bedbug infestation because getting rid of them is infamously difficult. High heat and diatomaceous earth are two of the most effective bedbug pesticides, but there's another, obscure method: bean leaves! Watch this four-minute video...

Reflections from Ben Giles, history's greatest stain remover

Starting out as a freelance window cleaner, the British cleaning legend started taking on jobs cleaning out people's garages and shacks. He soon realized people would pay top-dollar to have their worst messes cleaned up by someone else.

The terms 'bug' and 'debugging' were popularized by Grace Hopper's team

Engineers working on the Mark II computer at Harvard University identified a moth in one of its components in 1947, which caused it to malfunction. Describing the incident as the "first actual case of bug being found," the term first used by Thomas Edison in 1878 to describe faults in an apparatus caught on.

The mosquito's role in the transmission of malaria was confirmed in 1897

The British army doctor Ronald Ross, who later won the Nobel Prize for his work, was the first to describe the transmission of malarial parasites by mosquitoes. He had lab mosquitoes suck blood from malaria-infected people and separately found the malaria parasite inside a mosquito's gut, confirming the bug's role in malaria transmission.

Exposing a beloved British personality as a pedophile

After Jimmy Savile's 2011 death, comments damning him began populating an online networking site for an "emotionally disturbed girls" residential school. These comments pricked the ears of two BBC journalists whose desks had been slowly covered in rumors of abuse by the public figure and former BBC presenter. This podcast series focuses on how journalists bring stories to light and is one of two episodes detailing Savile's story.

Take a virtual journey through the world's deserts with Google Earth and BBC

Explore some of the world’s deserts in this “Natural Treasures” collaboration between Google Earth and BBC Earth. Visit the Namib Desert in Namibia where the simplest strategy to escape the heat is to emerge only in the cool of the night....

Who cleans the London Underground at night?

The London Underground, also known as the Tube, services millions of people every day. After the transit system closes each evening, a crew of workers known as “fluffers” gather to clean the underground tunnels. This article sheds light on these unnoticed cleaners, covering the difficulties of their jobs and the bizarre things they’ve encountered, from ghosts to nesting pigeons.

A day in the life of a Guinness World Record judge

Philip Robertson travels the world each week to see another ambitious person set a record. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at being one of Guinness World Record's adjudicators.

Canine inspectors can help detect potential carriers of invasive insects

At ports of entry in the US, Customs and Border Protection agents use dogs to sniff for forbidden foods and other items that are known to harbor invasive pests. Agents also physically inspect items such as flowers to prevent entry by species that may harm US agriculture.

A look at hydrothermal vents, where barophiles and hyperthermophiles survive boiling water

Discovered in 1977 during an exploration of the Galapagos Rift, these seafloor openings spew hot magma and chemicals that heat seawater to hundreds of degrees. Without the sunlight found at depths of less than 1,000 meters (3,281 feet), extremophiles in these environments convert released chemicals into energy to survive, alongside surviving extreme pressures.

Dave Asprey is considered one of the fathers of modern biohacking

Entrepreneur Dave Asprey wants to live longer than anyone else, a desire that's led him to biohacking. Asprey relies on supplements, stem cell treatments, rigid dieting, exercise, and more. The inventor of Bulletproof Coffee has no medical or nutritional training, though that's not unusual among biohacking's DIY experimenters.

Explore what it's like inside a patient isolation unit, used in situations such as treating a patient or suspected patient with Ebola.

A doctor answers the internet's burning questions about the gut

Gastroenterologist Dr. Ugo Iroku answers the internet’s burning questions about digestion and bowel movements. Get the lowdown on what it means when your stuff is super dark, the impact of coffee on evacuating bowels, and much more.

USA Television Network fictional series Royal Pains spotlights concierge medicine

This fictional television series, that aired from 2009-16, chronicles the adventures of a doctor who transitioned into offering concierge medicine for a big-spender clientele. As a private physician-for-hire he is on call to provide care 24/7.

Watch the cumbersome, but necessary, precautions healthcare workers must take to care for and protect themselves while caring for Ebola patients

Treating someone with Ebola involves a painstaking process of suiting up (donning) and peeling off (doffing) protective gear. Doctors follow detailed CDC guidelines. Properly suiting up is key to protecting against fluids that transmit Ebola, and correctly removing a suit that could be contaminated with the virus is also critical.

A sleep expert discusses the broad benefits of quality rest

In this three-part series, renowned sleep expert Matthew Walker and doctor Peter Attia explore the role of sleep in memory consolidation and mental health, and the detrimental effects of chronic lack of sleep. The latter has been linked to increased risk of dementia, hypertension, and more.

Take a 360-degree look inside Hong Kong's coffin homes

Hong Kong's lack of affordable housing is forcing hundreds of thousands of residents to live in "coffin homes" — a tiny partitioned apartment that is about the size of a coffin. Experience life inside a coffin home through this 360 VR video.

One man in Arizona works to defend Earth from catastrophic space rocks

David Rankin, an observer and operations engineer at the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey, spends his days scanning for solar system objects that could collide with our planet. The job requires employees to work long shifts to help prevent asteroids from destroying our planet.

Bob's Discount Furniture was born from a motorcycle accident

Founder Bob Kauffman crashed his motorcycle and nearly required a leg amputation. After sleeping on a waterbed appeared to help his recovery, Kauffman decided to sell the beds. His authentic and frugal approach (and goofy commercials) led to quick growth.

Cannes hotels hire hawks to scare off seagulls

Seagulls prey on celebrity tourists visiting for Cannes' festival season, a problem the city's hotels have (mostly) solved with an unlikely solution: more birds. Falconers strategically deploy hawks to scare off the seagulls and, in the process, protect the unsuspecting diners' meals.

Horse racing's most notorious trainer

Few names are as synonymous with American horse racing as Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. He has trained seven Kentucky Derby winners and two Triple Crown winners. But he also amassed over 30 drug violations in his career. This LA Times article dives into the suspensions and bans, and gives Baffert a space to defend his complex legacy in horse racing. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Disney keeps one street in Burbank pristine for shooting suburban scenes

Nearly every home on Keystone Street is owned by Disney and is often used when the company shoots movies set in idyllic suburbs. Even non-Disney projects, like the horror classic "Halloween," have used the street for filming.

Stay up to date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war with BBC's 'Ukrainecast'

BBC's "Ukrainecast" offers ongoing coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war, featuring on-the-ground reporting, expert analysis, and personal stories from Ukrainians living through the conflict.

'Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators' featured 'Hitch' as a character

The young adult detective novels, which ran from 1964 to 1987, prominently featured Hitchcock's name on their covers and included introductions supposedly written by the author. Hitchcock was also a character in the books, working with the young detectives. His name was removed after the 30th book was released.

Body horror is a subgenre that uses anxieties about appearance

Made popular in the 1980s through films like “The Fly,” the body horror subgenre focuses on physical transformation and violence. It gained significant attention in 2024, thanks to the critical attention “The Substance” received, including an Academy Award nomination for best picture.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

This real-time tracking of the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak in May 2026 offers a unique glimpse into the global reach of the outbreak and whether the virus sickened passengers and their communities around the world.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Firework or sparkler burns, even if they cover a relatively small area of skin, can significantly affect our range of motion.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'