All Stories
- Plants
Why dandelion seeds are so good at spreading widely
Individual seeds on a dandelion flower are programmed to let go for a specific wind direction, allowing them to spread widely as the wind shifts.
- Health & Medicine
Why daylight saving time just isn’t healthy, according to science
Shifting daylight from morning to evening puts our bodies and brains out of sync with our clocks, leading to a host of potential health issues.
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Forever chemicals’ health risks are getting attention
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses the health dangers of PFAS chemicals with freelance journalist Melba Newsome.
- Health & Medicine
DNA is providing new clues to why COVID-19 hits people differently
Age, general health and vaccinations can affect how sick people get with COVID-19. So can genes. Here are new hints of what’s going on in our DNA.
- Archaeology
50 years ago, Stonehenge’s purpose mystified scientists. It still does
In 1972, scientists thought Stonehenge may have been a calendar. Today, we still don’t know its purpose, but we have gained insight on its origin.
- Oceans
Sharks face rising odds of extinction even as other big fish populations recover
Over the last 70 years, large ocean fishes like tuna and marlin have been recovering from overfishing. But sharks continue to decline toward extinction.
- Physics
Zapping tiny metal drops with sound creates wires for soft electronics
Wearable medical devices and stretchable displays could benefit from a way to use high-frequency sound to create liquid metal wires.
- Health & Medicine
This child was treated for a rare genetic disease while still in the womb
Babies born with infantile-onset Pompe disease typically have enlarged hearts and weak muscles. But 1-year-old Ayla has a normal heart and walks.
- Climate
Greenland’s frozen hinterlands are bleeding worse than we thought
An inland swath of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream is accelerating and thinning. It could contribute much more to sea level rise than estimated.
- Animals
Some harlequin frogs — presumed extinct — have been rediscovered
Colorful harlequin frogs were among the hardest hit amphibians during a fungal pandemic. Some species are now making a comeback.
- Humans
This ancient Canaanite comb is engraved with a plea against lice
The Canaanite comb bears the earliest known instance of a complete sentence written in a phonetic alphabet, researchers say.
