All Stories
- Archaeology
A Bronze Age game called 58 holes was found chiseled into stone in Azerbaijan
A newly discovered rock pattern suggests that the game traveled fast from the Near East to Eurasia thousands of years ago.
- Health & Medicine
FDA restricts the sale of some flavored e-cigarettes as teen use soars
The number of high schoolers who vape rose 78 percent from 2017 to 2018.
- Astronomy
Astronomers spot another star that flickers like Tabby’s star
The irregular flickering of star VVV-WIT-07 is reminiscent of Tabby’s star, which brought speculation of alien megastructures.
- Math
It’s official: We’re redefining the kilogram
In May 2019, the system of measurement will be upgraded to rely on fundamental constants.
- Health & Medicine
Lyme and other tickborne diseases are on the rise in the U.S. Here’s what that means.
A record number of tickborne diseases were reported in the United States in 2017. An infectious disease physician discusses that result and others.
- Climate
Development near natural areas puts more Californians in the path of wildfires
As urbanization extends its reach into once-natural areas, more homes and people are at risk from wildfires.
- Microbes
Mini ‘solar panels’ help yeast shine at churning out drug ingredients
Microbes equipped with light-harvesting semiconductor particles generate useful chemicals much more efficiently than ordinary microbes.
- Genetics
Coffee or tea? Your preference may be written in your DNA
Coffee or tea is a bitter choice, a taste genetics study suggests.
- Earth
A massive crater hides beneath Greenland’s ice
The discovery of a vast crater in Greenland suggests that a 1-kilometer-wide asteroid hit the Earth between 2.6 million and 11,700 years ago.
- Anthropology
Skull damage suggests Neandertals led no more violent lives than humans
Neandertals’ skulls suggest they didn’t lead especially injury-prone lives.
- Animals
Sound-absorbent wings and fur help some moths evade bats
Tiny ultrathin scales on some moth wings absorb sound waves sent out by bats on the hunt.
- Health & Medicine
U.S. cases of a polio-like illness rise, but there are few clues to its cause
A total of 90 cases of acute flaccid myelitis have been confirmed so far this year, out of 252 under investigation.
