All Stories

  1. Physics

    Can light spark superconductivity? A new study reignites debate

    Brief blasts of light might make some materials into fleeting superconductors. Magnetic measurements strengthen the case for this controversial claim.

    By Emily Conover
  2. Health & Medicine

    How to stay healthy during the COVID-19 summertime surge

    Infections peak in the summer and winter. Up-to-date vaccinations, testing and masking can slow the spread.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  3. Climate

    Twisters asks if you can 'tame' a tornado. We have the answer

    Science News talked to a meteorologist and Twisters’ tornado consultant to separate fact from fiction in Hollywood’s latest extreme weather thriller.

    By Abby Wallace
  4. Oceans

    Can bioluminescent ‘milky seas’ be predicted?

    For the first time, a scientist has used ocean and atmospheric data to find a milky sea, a huge expanse of luminous water, in past satellite images.

    By Bas den Hond
  5. Oceans

    This AI can predict ship-sinking ‘freak’ waves minutes in advance

    The model, which was trained on data from ocean buoys to identify potential rogue waves, could help save lives.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  6. Health & Medicine

    The odds of developing long COVID dropped as the coronavirus evolved

    As different coronavirus variants took center stage during the pandemic, the chances of developing long COVID fell, especially for vaccinated people.

    By Aimee Cunningham
  7. Neuroscience

    Psilocybin temporarily dissolves brain networks

    A high dose of the psychedelic drug briefly throws the brain off kilter. Other, longer-lasting changes could hint at psilocybin's therapeutic effects.

    By Laura Sanders
  8. Planetary Science

    Jupiter’s Great Red Spot may be less than 200 years old

    An analysis of images spanning hundreds of years suggests a dark spot spied in the late 1600s and early 1700s is distinct from the Red Spot seen today.

    By Carolyn Wilke
  9. Health & Medicine

    This python-inspired device could make rotator cuff surgeries more effective

    A new device, modeled after a python’s teeth and grip, could double the strength of rotator cuff repairs and prevent retearing after surgery.

    By Claire Yuan
  10. Health & Medicine

    Rogue antibodies may cause some long COVID symptoms 

    Tissue-targeting antibodies have been a key suspect in long COVID. Now, two studies show that antibodies from patients can cause symptoms in mice.

    By Meghan Rosen
  11. 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 Croswell
  12. Climate

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

    Radiocarbon from bomb tests reveals that plants store more carbon than previously estimated in leaves and stems, which are vulnerable to degradation.

    By Carolyn Gramling