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Earth ocean

Planetary Science

Sulfur was key to the first water on Earth

Hydrogen bonded with sulfur may have given our world its first water after the hydrogen broke away and joined with oxygen in the planet’s crust.

By Ken Croswell2 hours ago

A small plant growing in soil.

Climate

Plants might not hold on to carbon as long as we thought

By Carolyn Gramling4 hours ago

A close-up illustration of a translucent amber-colored rock with a DNA double helix held inside

Materials Science

Jurassic Park’s amber-preserved dino DNA is now inspiring a way to store data

By Payal Dhar6 hours ago

illustration of a green cyclone-shaped aurora near Earth's north magnetic pole

‘Space hurricanes’ churn at both of Earth’s magnetic poles

By Carolyn GramlingJuly 12, 2024

Usain Bolt crouches next to a digital display showing his new world record while pointing to a crowd in a stadium

Humans

World record speeds for two Olympics events have fallen over time. We can go faster

By Erin Garcia de JesúsJuly 12, 2024

Dune-inspired spacesuit

Space

A Dune-inspired spacesuit turns astronaut pee into drinking water

By Adam MannJuly 12, 2024

a sea lion facing the camera lies on a concrete wall. A person wearing a white jumpsuit and blue gloves is walking toward it

Health & Medicine

Bird flu has been invading the brains of mammals. Here’s why

By Erin Garcia de JesúsJuly 11, 2024

Spotlight on Health

a sea lion facing the camera lies on a concrete wall. A person wearing a white jumpsuit and blue gloves is walking toward it

Bird flu has been invading the brains of mammals. Here’s why

Although H5N1 and its relatives can cause mild disease in some animals, these viruses are more likely to infect brain tissue than other types of flu.

By Erin Garcia de JesúsJuly 11, 2024
Breastfeeding should take a toll on bones. A brain hormone may protect them
How doctors can help demystify birth control amid online confusion

From the Archives

The Schizophrenic Brain: Rewriting the Chapter

July 14, 1979 Vol. 116 No. #2

Science News Magazine

July 13, 2024 cover

July 13, 2024 Vol. 206 No. 01

Featured Media

Usain Bolt crouches next to a digital display showing his new world record while pointing to a crowd in a stadium

World record speeds for two Olympics events have fallen over time. We can go faster

The human body can go faster in the 100-meter dash and the 50-meter freestyle. But to reach full potential, our technique must be perfect.

The pelt of a 52,000 year-old woolly mammoth complete with reddish-brown fur is being measured and photographed with a smart phone by two men. The man on the left wears a black baseball cap and an olive green jacket. He is holding a yellow tape measure. The man on the right has a white beard and glasses and is wearing a long-sleeved light blue shirt. He holds the phone in a gloved hand.

Freeze-drying turned a woolly mammoth’s DNA into 3-D ‘chromoglass’

a sea lion facing the camera lies on a concrete wall. A person wearing a white jumpsuit and blue gloves is walking toward it

Bird flu has been invading the brains of mammals. Here’s why

An illustration of a humanoid presenting manifestation of artificial intelligence taking tests while surrounded by "A+"s and "100/100"s on graded tests. Behind it are two researchers in a classroom watching the AI take its tests.

AI’s understanding and reasoning skills can’t be assessed by current tests

mosaic of eyeballs

A bizarre video of eyeballs illustrates our pupils shrink with age

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More Stories

Life

This protist unfolds its ‘neck’ up to 30 times its body length to scout prey

By Erin Garcia de JesúsJune 6, 2024
The largest known genome belongs to a tiny fern

By Jake BuehlerMay 31, 2024
It’s a big year for cicadas. Here’s what to know about this year’s emergence

By Susan MiliusMay 31, 2024

Humans

Does social status shape height?

By Sujata GuptaJune 28, 2024
Rain Bosworth studies how deaf children experience the world

By Meghan RosenApril 26, 2024
These are the chemicals that give teens pungent body odor

By Skyler WareMarch 21, 2024

Climate

Why this year’s climate conditions helped Hurricane Beryl smash records

By Carolyn GramlingJuly 2, 2024
How powdered rock could help slow climate change

By Ann Leslie DavisJuly 1, 2024
In ‘Warming Up,’ the sports world’s newest opponent is climate change

By Darren IncorvaiaJune 26, 2024

Astronomy

A middleweight black hole has been spotted for the first time in our galaxy

By Lisa GrossmanJuly 10, 2024
A stellar explosion may add a temporary ‘new star’ to the night sky this summer

By Jay BennettJuly 1, 2024
We may finally know the source of mysterious high-energy neutrinos

By Mara Johnson-GrohJune 26, 2024

Physics

Advanced nuclear reactors need a different type of uranium. Here’s 4 things to know

By Emily ConoverJuly 3, 2024
A black hole made from pure light is impossible, thanks to quantum physics

By Emily ConoverJune 24, 2024
The second law of thermodynamics underlies nearly everything. But is it inviolable?

By Tom SiegfriedJune 12, 2024

Health & Medicine

Bird flu viruses may infect mammary glands more commonly than thought

By Erin Garcia de JesúsJuly 8, 2024
Some people have never gotten COVID-19. An obscure gene may be why

By Jonathan LambertJuly 3, 2024
Honeybees can “smell” lung cancer

By Meghan RosenJune 25, 2024

Earth

An ancient earthquake changed the course of the Ganges River

By Sid PerkinsJune 28, 2024
Something weird is happening to Earth’s inner core

By Nikk OgasaJune 25, 2024
50 years ago, the sun’s influence on Earth’s lightning was revealed

By Cassie MartinJune 18, 2024

Science & Society

‘After 1177 B.C.’ describes how societies fared when the Bronze Age ended

By Bruce BowerJune 18, 2024
Scientists are fixing flawed forensics that can lead to wrongful convictions

By Amber DanceJune 6, 2024
Language models may miss signs of depression in Black people’s Facebook posts

By Sujata GuptaApril 22, 2024