All Stories
- Animals
For the first time, researchers decoded the RNA of an extinct animal
The Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, was hunted nearly to extinction. Now RNA extracted from a museum specimen reveals how its cells functioned.
- Earth
To form pink diamonds, build and destroy a supercontinent
The Argyle deposit in Australia formed about 1.3 billion years ago, a study shows, along a rift zone that sundered the supercontinent Nuna.
- Space
Clara Sousa-Silva seeks molecular signatures of life in alien atmospheres
Quantum astrochemist Clara Sousa-Silva studies how molecules in space interact with light, offering clues to what distant objects are made of.
- Health & Medicine
A catalog of all human cells reveals a mathematical pattern
Smaller cells occur in larger numbers in the human body, and cells of different size classes contribute equally to our overall mass.
- Physics
A laser gyroscope measured tiny variations in the lengths of days on Earth
An underground gyroscope known as ‘G’ uses laser beams traveling in opposite directions to precisely measure Earth’s rotation.
- Animals
Some cannibal pirate spiders trick their cousins into ‘walking the plank’
A pirate spider in Costa Rica uses a never-before-seen hunting strategy that exploits the way other spiders build webs.
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Reimagining electricity as a depression treatment
Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses the use of deep brain stimulation to treat severe depression.
- Physics
Scientists have two ways to spot gravitational waves. Here are some other ideas
From lasers in space to falling atoms on Earth, researchers are cooking up ways to sense gravitational waves that current methods can’t detect.
- Oceans
‘The Deepest Map’ explores the thrills — and dangers — of charting the ocean
A new book follows the race to map the seafloor, documenting how it’s done, why and what a clear view of the deep sea could mean for Earth’s future.
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Birds with more complex vocal skills are better problem-solvers
Evidence for a relationship between bird vocal learning and cognitive prowess has been mixed. Now, a massive new study confirms they are linked.
- Particle Physics
Scientists finally detected oxygen-28. Its instability surprised them
The elusive isotope was predicted to be very stable, thanks to “magic” numbers of neutrons and protons. It fell apart almost immediately.
