Science Visualized

Climate

The last 30 years were the hottest on record for the United States

Typical temps across large swaths of the country are now 1 to 2 degrees Fahrenheit higher than their 20th-century averages.

Materials Science

Morphing noodles start flat but bend into curly pasta shapes as they’re cooked

Shape-shifting pasta could potentially cut down on packaging and save space during shipping.

Humans

New depictions of ancient hominids aim to overcome artistic biases

Artists’ intuition instead of science drive most facial reconstructions of extinct species. Some researchers hope to change that.

Materials Science

Microscopic images reveal the science and beauty of face masks

Important insights into the particle-filtering properties of different fabrics also offer a sense of the unseen, textured world of face masks.

Animals

Dazzling underwater photos capture new views and scientific detail of fish larvae

Lab specimens of fish larvae are often mangled and bleached. Divers and researchers have partnered to study their rich colors and intricate bodies.

Microbes

Archaea microbes fold, twist and contort their DNA in extreme ways

Single-celled archaea open and close their Slinky-like genetic material in a clamshell motion, possibly providing easy access to their genes.

Anthropology

Finds in a Spanish cave inspire an artistic take on warm-weather Neandertals

Iberia’s mild climate fostered a host of resources for hominids often pegged as mammoth hunters.

Earth

Color-coded radar maps reveal a patchwork of California wildfire destruction

A composite made up of fine-scale vegetation maps from different years lets researchers track the story of plant loss and regrowth around Los Angeles.

Neuroscience

Famous brain sketches come to life again as embroideries

A needlework project pays tribute to the iconic drawings of Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal.

Physics

Explore every gravitational wave event spotted so far

This interactive visualization reveals the diversity of smashups that generate gravitational waves.

Archaeology

One of the oldest known cave paintings has been found in Indonesia

A drawing of a pig on the island of Sulawesi dates to at least 45,500 years ago.

Space

This new image reveals a sunspot in unrivaled detail

An image taken by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope — the largest solar observatory on Earth — provides the best look yet at a sunspot.