If a neuroscientist designed a haunted house, would you dare to enter?

From lobster claws and dog teeth to bee stings and snake fangs, every creature depends on a weapon. But some are armed to extremes that make no practical sense—whether it’s bull elks with giant 40-pound antler racks or tiny rhinoceros beetles with horns bigger than their body. What explains giant tusks, horns, and claws that can slow an animal down and even impair health and nutrition?

What’s behind the recent surge in home runs in baseball?

Beetles make up the largest group of insects on Earth. Why do so few of them have massive pincers?

Fiddler crabs' large claws look intimidating, but is deadly combat their main purpose?

An incredible discovery in astrophysics was unveiled today. Scientists saw and "heard" a dramatic cosmic explosion simultaneously for the first time.

All over the world, scientists are discovering traces of ancient floods on a scale that dwarfs even the most severe flood disasters of recent times. What triggered these cataclysmic floods, and could they strike again? In the Channeled Scablands of Washington State, the level prairie gives way to bizarre, gargantuan rock formations.

Geologists think these iconic chalk cliffs hold an extraordinary secret.

Devastating hurricanes struck the U.S. mainland and Caribbean islands in 2017. But they weren’t the first. The Great Hurricane of 1780 took nine days to blast its way across the Caribbean, killing at least 20,000—the highest known death toll of any single weather event in history. What made this superstorm so deadly?

Hurricanes bring wind, rain, and destruction—but how do they form?

The Supreme Court is hearing a gerrymandering case. Mathematicians are watching closely.

NOVA follows a team of volcano sleuths as they embark on a worldwide hunt for an elusive volcanic mega-eruption that plunged medieval Earth into a deep freeze. They look for the signature of a volcanic eruption big enough to have blasted a huge cloud of ash and sulfuric acid into the atmosphere, which chilled the entire planet. Across the globe, it turned summer into winter.

Researchers try to prove the existence of a 13th century volcanic eruption using ice.

Discover how Beijing’s Forbidden City, the largest palace complex in the world, has survived 500 years of earthquakes

The Forbidden City is the world’s biggest and most extravagant palace complex ever built. For five centuries, it was the power center of imperial China and survived wars, revolution, fires, and earthquakes. How did the Ming Emperor’s workforce construct its sprawling array of nearly 1,000 buildings and dozens of temples in a little over a decade?

What are intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and why are they hard to shoot down?

Once upon a time, knighthood was serious business, and for countless medieval fighters, their armor was what stood between life and death. NOVA challenged a blacksmith and master armorer to recreate parts of an elite armor. We trace their journey as they rediscover centuries-old metalworking secrets, then put their new armor to the ultimateultimate test against a period musket.

Knights and firearms clashed on the battlefield for over 200 years. Did some of these warriors have armor strong enough to stop bullets?

Hurricane Harvey broke continental U.S. records. Here's how cities can be better prepared.

Stonehenge is the grandest and most enigmatic of Europe’s prehistoric monuments, and has inspired countless theories to explain who built it and why. Join NOVA as we reveal intimate details of the Stonehenge people and why their power began to fade soon after they raised the mighty stones.