All Stories
- Animals
An all-female wasp is rapidly spreading across North America’s elms
The elm zigzag sawfly has spread to 15 states in five years. Now it's attacking the tree that cities planted to replace Dutch elm disease victims.
- Planetary Science
A newly spotted asteroid spins faster than any of its size ever seen
Among the first finds from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the discovery hints at a population of exceptionally strong asteroids.
- Astronomy
A double cosmic explosion could be the first known ‘superkilonova’
The blast may have been a kilonova — a type of neutron star merger — in the wake of a more traditional supernova.
- Health & Medicine
What science says about the Trump administration’s new vaccine schedule
The federal move to no longer recommend certain vaccines for all U.S. children is not supported by new evidence and could undermine health gains.
- Climate
Hidden tree bark microbes munch on important climate gases
Trees are known for absorbing CO2. But microbes in their bark also absorb other climate-active gases, methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide.
- Particle Physics
Earth is bathed in droves of neutrinos spewed by the Milky Way’s stars
The subatomic particles are incredibly numerous. About 1,000 neutrinos from stars other than the sun pass through a thumbnail every second.
- Neuroscience
Easy on the eyes is also easy on the brain
A new study finds that the brain spends less energy processing scenes that people find aesthetically pleasing.
- Health & Medicine
New dietary guidelines flip the food pyramid
The new guidelines emphasizes eating protein and full-fat dairy while reducing sugar, carbs and ultraprocessed foods.
- Archaeology
60,000-year-old poison arrowheads show early humans’ skillful hunting
A new analysis uncovers traces of poison on the South African arrowheads, pushing back the timeline for poisoned weapons by more than 50,000 years.
- Space
Betelgeuse’s buddy leaves a wake in the giant star’s atmosphere
The wake left by Betelgeuse’s companion could solve a decades-old mystery of its strange brightness cycles.
- Astronomy
Galaxies with ‘hoop skirts’ are more common than we thought
The discovery of thousands more galaxies with stars ringing their main disks could help astronomers study galactic evolution more generally.
- Physics
Here’s the science behind nuclear weapons testing
Nuclear weapons haven’t been tested in the United States since 1992. Find out why, and what could happen if the hiatus ends.
