All Stories
- Animals
To understand the origins of pain, ask a flatworm
A danger-sensing protein responds to hydrogen peroxide in planarians, results that hint at the evolutionary origins of people’s pain sensing.
- Astronomy
Neutron star collision showers the universe with a wealth of discoveries
A collision of neutron stars was spotted with gravitational waves for the first time. Telescopes captured gamma rays, visible light and more from the smashup.
- Earth
When the Larsen C ice shelf broke, it exposed a hidden world
Scientists plan urgent missions to visit the world the Larsen C iceberg left behind.
- Animals
Surgeon aims to diagnose deformities of extinct saber-toothed cats
Using CT scans, one orthopedic surgeon is on a quest to diagnose deformities in long-dead saber-toothed cats.
- Science & Society
An American astronomical evangelist coined the phrase ‘island universe’
Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel, a Civil War general nicknamed ‘Old Stars,’ first used ‘island universe’ in his monthly astronomy magazine.
- Chemistry
A potential drug found in a sea creature can now be made efficiently in the lab
Cooking bryostatin 1 up in a lab lets researchers explore its potential as a drug.
- Astronomy
Measured distance within the Milky Way gives clues to what our galaxy looks like
Astronomers used an old but challenging technique to directly measure the distance to a star on the opposite side of the galaxy for the first time.
- Astronomy
Measured distance within the Milky Way gives clues to what our galaxy looks like
Astronomers used an old but challenging technique to directly measure the distance to a star on the opposite side of the galaxy for the first time.
- Climate
During El Niño, the tropics emit more carbon dioxide
El Niño increases carbon emissions from the tropics — mimicking future climate change.
- Tech
Watch this cuttlefish-inspired ‘skin’ morph into a 3-D shape
New silicone material mimics cephalopod shape-shifting for quick camouflage.
- Neuroscience
There’s no rest for the brain’s mapmakers
Navigational grid cells stay on the job during sleep.
- Health & Medicine
In many places around the world, obesity in kids is on the rise
The last 40 years saw a big leap in obesity among children, totaling an estimated 124 million boys and girls in 2016.
