All Stories
- Space
Souped-up supernovas may produce much of the universe’s heavy elements
An old star that formed from an explosive event called a magnetorotational hypernova is revealing where elements like uranium and silver might be forged.
- Agriculture
A tweaked yeast can make ethanol from cornstalks and a harvest’s other leftovers
By genetically modifying baker’s yeast, scientists figured out how to get almost as much ethanol from cornstalks as kernels.
- Health & Medicine
How antibodies may cause rare blood clots after some COVID-19 vaccines
Vaccine-induced antibodies attach to a specific spot on a protein involved in clot formation, a study suggests.
- Astronomy
A shadowy birthplace may explain Jupiter’s strange chemistry
Dust that blocked sunlight caused the giant planet to form in a deep freeze, a new study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
How Hans Berger’s quest for telepathy spurred modern brain science
In the 1920s, psychiatrist Hans Berger invented EEG and discovered brain waves — though not long-range signals.
- Humans
How wielding lamps and torches shed new light on Stone Age cave art
Experiments with stone lamps and juniper branch torches are helping scientists see 12,500-year-old cave art with fresh eyes.
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Tasking trees with averting the climate crisis is a big ask
Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses whether planting trees can help us avert the climate crisis, or if it is another quick-fix gimmick.
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- Earth
A WWII submarine-hunting device helped prove the theory of plate tectonics
With a boost from World War II, the fluxgate magnetometer became a portable and invaluable tool.
- Health & Medicine
What experts know so far about the delta variant
The variant, which first emerged in India, is outcompeting other highly transmissible forms of the coronavirus as it spreads around the world.
- Astronomy
Scientists spotted an electron-capture supernova for the first time
A flare that appeared in the sky in 2018 was an electron-capture supernova, a blast that can occur in stars too small to go off the usual way.
- Animals
Focusing on Asian giant hornets distorts the view of invasive species
2021’s first “murder hornet” is yet another arrival. This is the not-so-new normal.
