News

  1. Animals

    Humpback whales in the South Atlantic have recovered from near-extinction

    A new count shows the population off Brazil went from about 450 in the 1950s to some 25,000 today.

    By Pablo Hernández-Mares
  2. Materials Science

    Lead becomes stronger than steel under extreme pressures

    Lead is a soft metal, easily scratched with a fingernail. But that changes dramatically when the metal is compressed under high pressures.

    By Emily Conover
  3. Climate

    5 things to know about fighting climate change by planting trees

    One group’s idea of planting vast swaths of trees to curb climate change exaggerates the proposal’s power to trap carbon, some argue.

    By Susan Milius
  4. Space

    Realigning magnetic fields may drive the sun’s spiky plasma tendrils

    Solar spicules emerge near counterpointing magnetic fields, hinting that self-adjusting magnetism creates these filaments, which may heat the corona.