News

  1. Physics

    Here’s how the periodic table gets new elements

    Today’s scientists keep adding to the periodic table. But an element has to earn its spot.

    By Helen Thompson
  2. Animals

    Cold War nuclear test residue offers a clue to whale sharks’ ages

    One unexpected legacy of the Cold War: Chemical traces of atomic bomb tests are helping scientists figure out whale shark ages.

    By Maria Temming
  3. Astronomy

    ‘Oumuamua might be a shard of a broken planet

    A new origin story for the solar system’s first known interstellar visitor suggests it may have been part of a world that got shredded by its star.

    By Christopher Crockett
  4. Math

    To cook a perfect steak, use math

    As a steak cooks in an oven, movement of liquid within the meat causes it to become extra juicy in the center in a way that can be predicted by mathematics.