The fish doorbell letting people help spawning fish

The floating homes of Holland

Floating communities like Schoonschip in Amsterdam are offering a novel approach to combat climate change-induced flooding. With sea levels rising and storms becoming more intense, these floating neighborhoods are providing a sustainable flood defense solution. Learn how they work here.

Watch a goldfish drive a car

Dutch engineer Thomas de Wolf created a car for a goldfish, or a water tank on wheels that is directed by the movements of the creature inside it. Using a motion-sensing camera, when Blub the fish moves to one side of the tank, the camera moves in the same direction.

The fish can climb walls

Scientists in Brazil captured rare footage of bumblebee catfish climbing waterfalls. How they do it is clear, but why remains a mystery.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

Listen to recordings of different fish species

Scientists have captured and curated this collection of species-specific recordings, helping us gain a deeper understanding of underwater ecosystems. Uncover their sounds, which include a lot of thumps, burps, and grunts.

The original canal had 83 different hand-operated locks

Locks are gated chambers that raise and lower boats between stretches of water at different levels. On the Erie Canal, 83 such locks managed a 565-foot elevation change from the Hudson River to Lake Erie.

Swimming in schools helps some fish conserve energy in turbulent flows

Scientists studying groups of giant danios swimming in turbulent waters found that the fish used up to 79% less energy than they did when swimming individually in the same conditions. The same fish were found to use the same amount of energy in turbulent and calm water when in schools.

See the real-time numbers of ships traversing the canal each day

This platform uses satellite data to track chokepoints and trade disruptions along the shipping lanes that crisscross the globe. Search for data from more than 1,600 ports, or run the climate scenario simulator.

Turning some invasive species into cash crops has helped control their spread

In Mexico, some companies are transforming sargassum seaweed blooms into paper, bricks, and shoes, while in Cambodia, water hyacinths are dried and woven into baskets, rugs, and other crafts. Lionfish and green crabs have been hunted for culinary dishes, with the latter also being used to make crab whiskey in New England.

One NHL team tosses salmon to its fans

Detroit Red Wings fans have thrown octopuses on the ice since 1952, and fans of other teams have tried their own hand at tossing things in the rink ever since. It's now become a calling card for the Seattle Kraken, whose fans nod to the city's Pike Place Market by tossing salmon onto the ice.

Dozens of US research projects focus on the zebrafish's ability to grow new retina cells

The small, striped minnow can repair its optic nerve in just under a week. Scientists are interested in hacking its regenerative capacity to grow new retina cells to treat human eye disorders, including macular degeneration. In 2020, the US National Eye Institute had nearly 80 projects focused on zebrafish.

View the rainbow effect on the waters at First Landing State Park

The phenomenon results from light interacting with a thin film of natural oils on the surface of swamps and marshes at the site, not unlike the coloration seen in soap bubbles. The oils originate from decaying vegetation or from anaerobic bacteria reducing iron in soil. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Angler catches nine-foot-long catfish

An Italian fishermen struggled for 43 minutes to reel in an over nine-foot catfish in the river Po, marking one of the largest such catches in history.

Citizen scientist volunteers can help identify invasive species in wilderness areas

Launched in 2005 by the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at the University of Georgia, EDDMapS allows users can document invasive species sightings in the US and Canada in a web-based mapping system. As of February 2026, EDDMapS has over 8.6 million records, all freely available for querying.

A network of live bird song trackers

Do you know where the birds are singing? In a kind of magical way, now you can see where the latest literal tweets are happening with this innovative network of birdsong trackers dispersed around the world. The network automatically identifies which bird produced the sound and shares the data with the network. See who's singing here.

The Devil's Hole pupfish can be found in only one place in the world

The critically endangered fish species can be found in only one cave in the middle of the Mojave Desert called Devil's Hole. In 2016, three men broke into the protected area to purposefully harm the fish.

Explore the animals that populate the depths of the ocean, from fish and coral in the first few hundred feet, all the way down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

The surprising economics of sushi

How exactly does a patron of a sushi restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska, get to eat fresh fish caught off the coast of Japan? This episode of the Freakonomics podcast answers this question and explains the impressive feat. Listen to learn about the tricky economics and time-sensitive process behind importing fresh catches to sushi-lovers across America.

Explaining how water's movement between different salt concentrations can generate electricity

Water naturally moves from regions of low salinity, such as freshwater, to regions of high salinity, such as ocean water, across a semipermeable membrane. This movement produces pressure that can be harnessed in osmotic power systems to drive turbines and generate electricity, much like in hydroelectric plants.

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.

Coral polyps reproduce via broadcast spawning, where entire reefs simultaneously release reproductive cells for about one hour, once a year.

Singapore, one of the world's smartest cities

A fascinating look into what makes Singapore one of the smartest cities in the world, including human-centric innovations benefitting human health such as the AI-powered "Smart Elderly Alert System."

See the world's longest glass-bottom bridge in China

China's Huangchuan Three Gorges Scenic Area sports the world's longest glass-bottom bridge, spanning over 1,700 feet. Designed by the Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University, it stands 660 feet above the Lianjiang River. The bridge features bright red towers, an 29-foot-wide deck with three layers of thick glass, and can support 500 people. The bridge surpassed the previous record-holder, a 1,600-foot bridge in Hebei province.

Manholes connect underground sewer and water drain pipes

Wherever a portion of sewer is connected to another, a manhole is built. These serve both as access points for maintenance and as connectors for the system. This video shows how crucial manholes are for proper sewer functioning.

Guide a ship to dock at the International Space Station

Dozens of ships dock at the ISS yearly, rotating astronaut crews and delivering supplies. This simulation lets you try docking a SpaceX Dragon 2 using the same interface and controls as NASA astronauts.

A German town transforms its entire city hall into a massive Advent calendar

Gengenbach turns its 18th-century town hall into a 24-window Advent calendar attracting up to 220,000 visitors each December. Each night reveals new art, reviving winter tourism in the town.

The forgotten carnivals that stood upon the frozen River Thames

The Thames Frost Fairs were unusual winter events that took place between 1607 and 1814. They happened during the so-called Little Ice Age, when the River Thames would freeze over for up to two months straight. These unique festivals transformed the frozen river into a bustling carnival-like environment where Londoners set up temporary shops, entertainment venues, and social spaces directly on the ice.

Swarms of mechanical bees may one day support natural pollination

Engineers are racing to create tiny robot bees that can be programmed to mimic natural bee behavior, helping in specific scenarios such as indoor farming and space agriculture. Battery life challenges may be solved by having these robots accompanied by a nearby "mother" drone power supply.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

Planarian flatworms are small, aquatic worms with exceptional regenerative capabilities. When cut, the worms can regenerate multiple bodies in a matter of weeks.

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

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.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

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

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

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.

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.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

All rainbows are 'raincircles' caused by water droplets separating white sunlight into a spectrum of colors, but Earth's surface blocks the bottom half of the circle from our line of sight.