All Stories
- Planetary Science
Venus has a massive lava tube
A collapsed lava tube detected in 30-year-old radar data from Venus may be part of a much wider network of underground caves.
- Archaeology
Iron Age mass grave may hold unusual victims: mostly women and children
A land dispute may have led to the massacre 3,000 years ago, suggesting Europe’s transition to farming wasn’t always peaceful.
- Genetics
Wanderlust may be written in our DNA
A new study suggests that inherited traits explain a small but measurable share of why some people relocate far from where they were born.
- Health & Medicine
This itch-triggering protein also sends signals to stop scratching
The TRPV4 protein’s dual nature, found in studies with mice, may complicate the hunt for human itch treatments
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Finding the story
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses how our reporters find unique stories, from vaccine beer to a particle collider’s retirement to the rise of AI scientists.
- Health & Medicine
Meds like Ozempic could ease arthritis
A study in mice and people with osteoarthritis suggests semaglutide can bulk up cartilage between bones, though bigger trials are needed to confirm.
- Science & Society
Project Hail Mary made us wonder how to survive a trip to interstellar space
We can take some clues from hibernation and cryogenics, but humans aren't yet built for that kind of deep sleep.
- Climate
Halting irreversible changes to Antarctica depends on choices made today
Antarctic Peninsula projections show accelerating ice loss, warming oceans and global sea level impacts tied to greenhouse gas emissions.
- Chemistry
Machine learning streamlines the complexities of making better proteins
The framework predicts how proteins will function with several interacting mutations and finds combinations that work well together.
- Climate
Snowball Earth might have had a dynamic climate and open seas
Sediments from Scotland hint that ocean-atmosphere interactions continued more than 600 million years ago despite widespread ice.
- Paleontology
A mouth built for efficiency may have helped the earliest bird fly
A flexible tongue, sensitive beak and teethlike cones in the mouth may have helped Archaeopteryx generate enough energy to fly.
- Health & Medicine
Home HPV tests won’t replace the ob-gyn
Breast exams, birth control and family planning are just some of the reasons not to skip your annual ob-gyn appointment.
