Articles by Kirsten Brooker

For many today, Easter may seem just another holiday when kids get to restock their candy stash and receive presents. But what is Easter all about, and why do we celebrate it? There is far more meaning to the holiday… Read More

Electric eels are odd creatures that live primarily in the fresh waters of South America. Though they are often classified as eels, the genetics of electric eels are more closely related to that of carps or catfish. They are nocturnal… Read More

After nearly 13,000 years of extinction, scientists have found a way to de-extinct the exceptional dire wolf. By using ancient, preserved dire wolf DNA and combining it with that of the existing gray wolf, Colossal Biosciences has successfully brought an… Read More

A donkey (also known as burro or ass) is an adorable and loyal mammal that lives all around the world. Donkeys are intelligent animals, and they provide many services to humans such as transportation, farm protection, herding, and pets. There… Read More

Every 10 years in America a census is taken. A census usually asks general questions to collect statistical data to be used by governments for planning and preparation. But what happens when the census is inaccurate? A new study published… Read More

Referred to as the most intelligent animals on the planet, chimpanzees, sometimes called chimps for short, are incredibly smart mammals. They are great problem-solvers, toolmakers, communicators, and rather emotional creatures. But their presence on Earth is consistently dwindling. There are… Read More

Earth’s tallest mountain above sea level, Mount Everest, continues to get taller each year. The erosion of rock and sediment caused by nearby rivers is believed to be the cause of the mountain’s continuous growth. Over the past 89,000 years,… Read More

A babirusa is an Indonesian wild pig that is known for its curved tusks and hairless body. The name babirusa means “pig deer” in the Malay language because their tusks resemble deer antlers. Three types of babirusa are known to… Read More

The SS United States is a historic ocean liner that is known for ferrying the actress Marilyn Monroe, the late President John F. Kennedy, and Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece Mona Lisa across the Atlantic Ocean. The ship also broke the… Read More

Beyond their unique appearance, aardvarks are an unusual and fascinating species of mammal. They make their homes in different habitats primarily south of the Sahara Desert in Africa. Though they are often compared to pigs (the name aardvark means earth… Read More

In 2023, Claudia Steffensen discovered an odd-looking rock while hiking in Italy with her husband. The rock turned out to be a fossil. For centuries, humans have located and studied these fossils to gain a better understanding of what creatures… Read More

For the second time in modern history, Martin Luther King Day and the presidential inauguration will fall on the same day in 2025. The last and only other time this happened was in 1997, the year former President Bill Clinton… Read More