All Stories
- Cosmology
‘Flashes of Creation’ recounts the Big Bang theory’s origin story
In ‘Flashes of Creation,’ author Paul Halpern tells the story of George Gamow , Fred Hoyle and their decades-long sparring match about the Big Bang.
- Astronomy
The definition of planet is still a sore point – especially among Pluto fans
In the 15 years since Pluto lost its planet status, scientists have continued to use the definition that works for them.
- Climate
Climate change made Europe’s flash floods in July more likely
The deadly July floods in Belgium and Germany bear the fingerprints of human-caused climate change, scientists say.
- Animals
A giant tortoise was caught stalking, killing and eating a baby bird
Video captures the first documented instance of a tortoise hunting another animal.
- Astronomy
Here’s how cool a star can be and still achieve lasting success
The dividing line between successful stars and failed ones is a surface temperature of about 1,200° to 1,400° Celsius, a new study reports.
- Psychology
Everyone maps numbers in space. But why don’t we all use the same directions?
The debate over whether number lines are innate or learned obscures a more fundamental question: Why do we map numbers to space in the first place?
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Debate over Pluto’s planet status still carries on
Managing editor Erin Wayman discusses the challenges of classification in science, from Pluto's planet status to the definition of life.
- Physics
50 years ago, physicists thought they found the W boson. They hadn’t
Fifty years after a false-alarm discovery, physicists have caught the W boson and are using it to unravel mysteries of particle physics.
- Paleontology
How fossilization preserved a 310-million-year-old horseshoe crab’s brain
A 310-million-year-old horseshoe crab’s brain was preserved in clay, thanks to an uncommon fossilization process that protected the fragile neural tissues.
- Psychology
‘Ghost games’ spotlight the psychological effect fans have on referees
Soccer teams won fewer games and received more fouls when playing at home during the 2019–2020 season, when many fans were absent, than before the pandemic.
- Animals
These baby greater sac-winged bats babble to learn their mating songs
Greater sac-winged bat pups babble their way through learning their rich vocal repertoire, similar to how human infants babble before speaking.
