The discovery of microscopic diamonds in 12,900-year-old soil supports the controversial idea that comet swarms caused a die-off of ice age mammals, a new study says.

Just one second tacked on to the world's clocks in 2008 may create problems for systems dependent on time, such as navigation systems and stock exchanges.

See the National Geographic Digital Media photo editors' favorite photos from National Geographic News's 2008 "Week in Photos" galleries.

National Geographic News asked six science bloggers to each choose the most important, most overlooked, and strangest stories of 2008.

Air New Zealand says a test flight Tuesday was the first commercial-jet journey to use a fuel that is equal parts biofuel and standard jet fuel.

The famous national park was jostled by more than 250 small, unusual earthquakes for a third straight day Monday, and scientists are watching closely to see whether severe volcanic activity is imminent.

The big cats originated in Africa or Asia, not North America as previously thought, according to a new study on a two-million-year-old skull.

Bizarre prehistoric creatures--sea monsters, gargantuan rodents, a redheaded Neanderthal--are among the stars of the most read stories on dinosaurs and fossils by National Geographic News in 2008.

New insights into the animals intimate encounters include species that cut holes into their partners for sex, squid that swap genders, and males that deploy flesh-burrowing sperm.