All Stories
- Health & Medicine
City size and structure may influence influenza epidemics
The size and structure of cities helps shape the progression of new influenza cases during a flu season, a new study finds.
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s ‘ring rain’ is a surprising cocktail of chemicals
NASA’s Cassini probe got a closeup view of the material falling from Saturn’s rings into the planet. The data could help illuminate the belts’ origins.
- Climate
How wind power could contribute to a warming climate
If the United States had enough wind turbines to generate all of its power, they would warm the country by 0.24 degrees Celsius on average.
- Chemistry
Speeding up evolution to create useful proteins wins the chemistry Nobel
The three winners, which include the fifth woman to win the chemistry prize, pioneered techniques used to fashion customized proteins for new biofuels and drugs.
- Particle Physics
Physicist Leon Lederman, renowned for his subatomic particle work, has died
The Nobel Prize–winning particle physicist discovered multiple particles and wrote popular science books.
- Life
Lemur study suggests why some fruits smell so fruity
A new test with lemurs and birds suggests there’s more to fruit odors than simple ripening.
- Humans
A 90,000-year-old bone knife hints special tools appeared early in Africa
The discovery of a bone knife in a Moroccan cave points to the ancient emergence of specialized toolmaking in the region.
- Astronomy
Hubble may have spotted the first known exomoon
A single sighting with the Hubble Space Telescope seems to confirm that there’s a Neptune-sized moon orbiting exoplanet Kepler 1625b.
- Chemistry
Speeding up the evolution of proteins wins the chemistry Nobel
Work on evolving new proteins from old ones takes the Nobel Prize in chemistry.
- Animals
Giraffes inherit their spots from their mothers
Africa’s tallest creatures get their characteristic patterns of spots from their moms, a new study finds.
- Physics
Dazzling laser feats earn these physicists a Nobel
The 2018 Nobel Prize in physics went to scientists — including the third-ever female winner — who made optical tweezers and boosted the strength of laser pulses.
- Climate
Tracking how rainfall morphs Earth’s surface could help forecast flooding
After Hurricane Harvey, scientists used GPS networks to track how Earth’s surface morphed under the weight of floodwaters.
