All Stories

Health & Medicine

50 years ago, polio was still circulating in the United States

The world has never been closer to eradicating polio, but the disease could come roaring back where vaccination is spotty.

Astronomy

This may be the first known exoplanet with rain and clouds of water droplets

For the first time, astronomers have detected water vapor and possibly signs of clouds and even rain in the air of a potentially habitable exoplanet.

Astronomy

Giant radio bubbles spew from near the Milky Way’s central black hole

New structures found at the heart of our galaxy join other bubbles, chimneys and filaments that hint at a turbulent past.

Science & Society

‘The Nature of Life and Death’ spotlights pollen’s role in solving crimes

In ‘The Nature of Life and Death,’ botanist Patricia Wiltshire recounts some of her most memorable cases.

Humans

Artists who paint with their feet have ‘toe maps’ in their brains

Brain specialization comes with toe specialization in people who use their feet for painting, eating and writing.

Physics

Physicists may be a step closer to solving the mystery of proton size

Multiple measurements now agree that the proton is smaller than previously thought.

Humans

Culture helps shape when babies learn to walk

The culture in which a baby is raised can accelerate or slow down the development of early motor skills. Does it matter?

Tech

A new prosthetic leg that senses touch reduces phantom pain

A prosthetic leg that can sense foot pressure and knee angle helped two men walk faster and reduced phantom leg pain.

Humans

Supercooling tripled the shelf life of donor livers

Cooling organs to subzero temperatures could help them last longer, making lifesaving transplants available to more people.

Earth

Ancient crystal growths in caves reveal seas rose 16 meters in a warmer world

The Pliocene era cave formations on the Spanish coast of Mallorca offer hints about how oceans could respond to human-driven climate change.