All Stories
- Humans
A child’s biological sex may not always be a random 50-50 chance
Some people’s biology may set them up to birth babies of a certain sex, explaining why a family with multiple children may have all girls or all boys.
- Health & Medicine
‘Rehab’ exposes the dark underside of U.S. drug treatment centers
In Rehab, journalist Shoshana Walter investigates the systemic pitfalls of drug treatment programs, which prevent people’s recovery from addiction.
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Math puzzle: Can you meet me at the mall?
Solve the math puzzle from our August 2025 issue, which takes you back to the time before cell phones.
- Climate
What to know about the extreme U.S. flooding — and ways to stay safe
An oceanographer explains how climate change, warming oceans and a souped-up atmosphere are creating conditions for deadly floods.
- Animals
Some penguins save energy by riding ocean currents
When navigating home, Magellanic penguins alternate between heading straight back in calm waters and swimming with the flow in strong ocean currents.
- Animals
A dog’s taste for TV may depend on its temperament
Anxious dogs might react nervously to some television sounds, a survey of dog owners reports, while hyper ones might try to play chase.
- Earth
How hot can Earth get? Our planet’s climate history holds clues
Earth has survived huge temperature swings over eons of climate change. Humans might not be so lucky.
- Animals
A newly discovered cell helps pythons poop out the bones of their prey
The cells helps the snakes absorb the bones of their prey — and might show up in other animals that chomp their meals whole.
- Paleontology
How an ancient marine predator snuck up on its prey
Serrations at the edges of a fossilized flipper of the ancient marine reptile Temnodontosaurus suggests it may have been able to swim silently.
- Planetary Science
This star offers the earliest peek at the birth of a planetary system like ours
A young sunlike star called HOPS 315 seems to host a swirling disk of gas giving rise to minerals that kick-start the planet formation process.
- Humans
No, shaken baby syndrome has not been discredited
Defense lawyers have called shaken baby syndrome, or abusive head trauma, junk science. But doctors say shaking a baby is dangerous.
- Space
In a first, an image shows a dying star exploded twice to become a supernova
The image offers the first evidence for a previously unconfirmed origin story of type 1a supernovas.
