Feature
- Quantum Physics
Ultrasmall engines bend second law of thermodynamics
Car engines and batteries run because of the second law of thermodynamics, which appears to work, with just a little bending, for ultrasmall engines in the quantum realm as well.
- Physics
Gravitational waves explained
Colliding black holes send ripples through spacetime that can be detected here on Earth. What are these gravitational waves, and how did Advanced LIGO detect them?
- Planetary Science
Support grows for a return to ice giants Uranus and Neptune
Thirty years ago, Voyager 2 cruised past Uranus and then on to Neptune. Now planetary scientists think it’s time to go back.
- Earth
Ocean’s plastics offer a floating fortress to a mess of microbes
Microbes take up residence on ocean plastics, potentially causing changes in ocean environments.
- Genetics
GMOs haven’t delivered on their promises — or risks
Genetically modified foods have been studied extensively and are abundant on supermarket shelves, but they haven’t managed to end world hunger yet.
- Physics
Nuclear fusion gets boost from private-sector startups
Private-sector firms are creating nuclear fusion machines that may beat governments to the punch.
- Health & Medicine
Mom’s weight during pregnancy shapes baby’s health
Obesity at conception or during pregnancy is a big problem that's getting bigger: New evidence says a child's mental health could be at stake.
- Neuroscience
His stress is not like her stress
When the pressure doesn’t let up, men and women react differently. The root of the difference may be messaging within the brain.
- Physics
The science of avalanches
High-tech instruments are helping researchers study how temperature can change the character — and danger — of an avalanche
- Paleontology
12 amazing fossil finds of 2015
From an ancient sponge ancestor to the Carolina Butcher, scientists learned a lot about life on Earth this year.
- Psychology
As suicide rates rise, researchers separate thoughts from actions
Advances in suicide research and treatment may depend on separating thoughts from acts.
- Astronomy
Astronomical milestones of 2015
The New Horizons mission to Pluto was the No. 1 science story of the year. Here some other notable space missions.
