All Stories
- Science & Society
Building big experiments to study very little things
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses our behind the scenes look at the giant equipment used to study the smallest bits of matter.
By Nancy Shute - Astronomy
The TESS space telescope has spotted its first exoplanet
TESS’s first exoplanet is twice Earth’s size and may have lots of water.
- Particle Physics
Early tests pave the way for a giant neutrino detector
A prototype detector demonstrates the technology needed for the DUNE experiment.
- Tech
A sensor inspired by an African thumb piano could root out bogus medicines
An inexpensive, user-friendly device that’s based on an mbira could help identify counterfeit and contaminated medications.
- Plants
Smart plants can teach us a thing or two
‘The Revolutionary Genius of Plants’ challenges the brain-centered view of intelligence.
- Planetary Science
The ghosts of nearly two dozen icy volcanoes haunt dwarf planet Ceres
The slumped remains of 21 ice volcanoes suggest that the dwarf planet Ceres has been volcanically active for billions of years.
- Life
Here’s how clumps of honeybees may survive blowing in the wind
Honeybees clumped on trees may adjust their positions to keep the cluster together when it’s jostled by wind, a new study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Here’s how many U.S. kids are vaping marijuana
A new study suggests that nearly 1 in 11 middle and high school students in the United States has vaped marijuana, raising concerns about addiction.
- Genetics
A recount of human genes ups the number to at least 46,831
A new estimate of the number of human genes adds in some RNA-producing genes.
- Ecosystems
Confused mayflies wreak havoc on a Pennsylvania bridge
Cleaning a river in central Pennsylvania brought back mayflies, which now pose a threat to motorists crossing a bridge.
- Physics
Nuclear pasta in neutron stars may be the strongest material in the universe
Simulations suggest that the theoretical substance known as nuclear pasta is 10 billion times as strong as steel.
- Animals
‘Poached’ offers a deep, disturbing look into the illegal wildlife trade
In ‘Poached,’ a journalist reports from the front lines of the illegal wildlife trade and shows how conservationists are fighting back.