All Stories
- Space
A newly discovered interstellar object might predate the solar system
3I/ATLAS might be over 7 billion years old, a new study reports, which would make it the oldest comet known. But experts caution we need more data.
- Chemistry
Gut microbes may flush ‘forever chemicals’ from the body
Experiments in mice show that some gut bacteria can absorb toxic PFAS chemicals, allowing animals to expel them through feces.
- Planetary Science
New Horizons visited Pluto 10 years ago. We’re still learning from it
Over the past decade, researchers have been puzzling through Pluto’s mysteries. Meanwhile, the New Horizons probe heads for interstellar space.
- Animals
Greenland sled dog DNA is a window into the Arctic’s archaeological past
A genomic analysis of Greenland’s Qimmeq dogs suggest they and their human partners arrived on the island centuries earlier than previously thought.
- Climate
Trees can’t get up and walk away, but forests can
In fantasy worlds, trees like the Lord of the Rings’ Ents are agile and mobile. In the real world, they’re slow.
- Earth
An ancient Earth impact could help in the search for Martian life
Strange cone-shaped rocks led scientists to the hidden remains of one of Earth’s oldest asteroid impacts. It could help us find fossil life on Mars.
- Animals
As bird flu evolves, keeping it out of farm flocks is getting harder
New versions of the H5N1 virus are increasingly adept at spreading. Suggestions to either let it rip in poultry or vaccinate the birds could backfire.
- Oceans
Deep-sea mining could start soon — before we understand its risks
The U.S. push to mine international waters for metals defies global efforts to control and protect these fragile ecosystems.
- Health & Medicine
These 5 nutrients might be lacking in your diet
U.S. diets should include more of vitamins D and E, fiber, calcium and magnesium — all are essential nutrients that could offer health benefits.
- Life
Why these zombie caterpillars can’t stop eating
Sneaky chemistry by a real-life “Last of Us” Cordyceps fungus mind controls its zombie insect victims by convincing them they’re starving.
- Physics
Scientists 3-D printed a tiny elephant inside a cell
The first structures ever 3-D printed inside living cells point to applications for biology research.
- Earth
NASA images may help track sewage in coastal waters
Sewage-contaminated water absorbs certain wavelengths of light, leaving a signature that can be detected by space-based instruments, a new study finds.
