The first planets identified beyond the solar system were shockingly unlike the nine worlds long-known within it. In sorting through the new exoplanets, scientists described them in terms that compared them to Earth's neighbors, dubbing them 'hot Jupiters' or 'super-Earths'. There are also 'hot Earths', terrestrial worlds orbiting their suns in periods less than two days.

Business as usual on the Colorado River may be about to come to a screeching halt.

One of the worst recorded droughts in human history has stretched water supplies thin across the far-reaching river basin, which serves 40 million people.

Tourists come to Las Vegas to get married, party, gamble — and sometimes all of the above. So how can a bunch of bones that are millions of years old compete? One Las Vegas museum hopes to bring the thrill factors to natural history with a new, hands-on laboratory. Guests who witness Dr. Josh Bonde at work may not feel like they’ve arrived in Jurassic Park, but the paleontologist hopes they’ll be awed by a visit to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum.

About 290 million years ago, a four-legged reptile with three toes on each of its back feet strolled across the mucky land, the waves of a tidal flat likely lapping near its feet, a new study finds.

It’s been 30 years since Marc Reisner’s landmark history of Western water, Cadillac Desert, was first published. The book’s dire tone set the pattern for much subsequent water writing. Longtime Albuquerque Journal reporter John Fleck calls it the “narrative of crisis” — an apocalyptic storyline about the West perpetually teetering on the brink of running dry.

Conservationists and other campaigners are urging President Obama to designate 1.7 million acres of the Canyon watershed a national monument before he leaves office

Bzzzzzz ... Yep, cicada season is here. The insects known for their signature humming sound generally show up each and every July, according to UNLV professor Allen Gibbs, though sometimes they arrive early in June or late in August.

During the summer months, everyone can hear the buzz. The sound seems to fill the air from June through August. It's the sound of cicadas.

More than 90 species of U.S. specialty crops require pollination, and various animals, including bees, butterflies, moths, bats, and birds are a critical part of the pollinator-plant ecosystem. Despite the myriad species of pollinators available, American farmers rely on one species of honey bee, Apis mellifera, for most of the pollinator services to pollinate their crops. Wild and managed bees together add $15 billion in crop value each year.

Parasitic bacteria that are entirely dependent on the other bacteria they infect have been discovered for the first time, in human spit. The tiny cells have gone undetected for decades, but appear to be linked to gum disease, cystic fibrosis and antimicrobial resistance.

A revolution is taking place in medication and the Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine at UNLV is at the forefront.

Imagine a white sand beach with a bar at the dock. Water skiers flash by a small island, where fireworks shoot from twin peaks. Now imagine this water paradise is in the desert of drought-stricken Nevada.