All Stories
- Archaeology
A mysterious ancient grave with a sword and mirror belonged to a woman
The items hint that she fought in or helped plan raids and defensive actions in what’s now southwestern England about 2,000 years ago, scientists speculate.
- Climate
A new UN report lays out an ethical framework for climate engineering
The report’s release, which coincides with COP28, weighs the ethics of using technological interventions to mitigate climate change.
- Animals
Fish beware: Bottlenosed dolphins may be able to pick up your heartbeat
Fish, sharks and platypuses are adept at sensing electrical signals living things give off. Bottlenosed dolphins make that list too, studies suggests.
- Animals
These nesting penguins nod off over 10,000 times a day, for seconds at a time
Micronaps net chinstrap penguins over 11 hours of sleep a day, offering some rest while staying vigilant against predators and competitors.
- Science & Society
Here are 10 early-career scientists you should know about in 2023
Researchers on this year's SN 10: Scientists to Watch list are shaping our future and our understanding of ourselves.
- Earth
Before ancient Egyptians, nature sculpted sphinxes. Here’s how
Steady winds can carve landforms called yardangs — thought to have inspired the Great Sphinx of Gaza — from featureless blobs, a new study suggests.
- Animals
This bird hasn’t been seen in 38 years. Its song may help track it down
Using bioacoustics, South American scientists are eavesdropping on a forest in hopes of hearing the song of the long-missing purple-winged ground dove.
- Climate
Capturing methane from the air would slow global warming. Can it be done?
Removing methane from the atmosphere requires different technology from removing carbon dioxide. Scientists are taking on the challenge.
- Animals
One mountain in Brazil is home to a surprising number of these parasitic wasps
Darwin wasps were thought to prefer temperate areas. But researchers scoured a mountain in the Brazilian tropics and found nearly a hundred species.
- Life
Some picky Australian mosquitoes may target frog nostrils for blood
The insects seem to sip from nowhere else on frogs’ bodies. Thinner skin or denser blood vessels near the nostrils might explain why.
- Science & Society
Reindeer herders and scientists collaborate to understand Arctic warming
Siberian reindeer herders and scientists are working together to figure out how to predict rain-on-snow events that turn tundra into deadly ice.
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Under the jungle, a more pluralistic Maya society
Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses how new scientific discoveries are rewriting the history of Maya society
