All Stories
- Health & Medicine
Youth tobacco use has gone down, but the work isn’t over
In 2024, tobacco use among middle and high school students reached a record low, but new vapes and other products with nicotine keep coming.
- Health & Medicine
Keeping weight off may be stymied by fat cells’ ‘memory’ of obesity
Some genetic changes in fat cells don’t go away after weight loss, a study in mice and human cells suggests.
- Neuroscience
Some people don’t have a mind’s eye. Scientists want to know why
The senses of sight and sound are usually mingled in the brain, but not for people with aphantasia.
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50 years on, Lucy still sparks our curiosity
Editor in chief Nancy Shute recounts the 50-year anniversary of the hominid's discovery, which upended the study of human evolution.
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Readers ask about self-correcting quantum computers, oobleck’s experimental value
Readers wondered if mayo qualifies as a non-Newtonian fluid, and X user @Lightning456243 asked how a quantum computer can identify its own errors.
- Oceans
The world’s largest coral was discovered in the South Pacific
The behemoth coral, discovered in October in the Solomon Islands, is longer than a blue whale and older than the United States.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, U.S. drinking water sparked health and safety concerns
The discovery of potential cancer-causing agents in tap water led to the Safe Drinking Water Act — a law that continues protecting public health.
- Planetary Science
A first look at rocks from the lunar farside create a volcanic mystery
Rocks returned by China’s Chang’e-6 mission suggest volcanic activity just 2.8 billion years ago but lack telltale heat-generating elements.
- Health & Medicine
22 pesticides show links to prostate cancer
The new finding comes from an analysis of pesticide use and prostate cancer incidence in over 3,100 U.S. counties.
- Animals
Stray DNA is all around us. It could revolutionize conservation
Environmental DNA harvested from the ocean, land and air can help scientists monitor wildlife. The challenge is figuring out how to interpret this eDNA.
- Psychology
Researchers seek, and find, a magical illusion for the ears
A contest to design a sound-only magic trick could help psychologists learn about differences between visual and auditory perception.
- Health & Medicine
Lizard spit can help detect a rare pancreatic tumor
A protein found in Gila monster saliva flags tiny pancreatic tumors in PET scans.
