All Stories

  1. Animals

    AI-powered whale-spotting tech may help save San Francisco Bay’s gray whales

    An AI trained to use thermal images to detect whale body heat could help warn ships at risk of colliding with the marine mammals.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  2. Health & Medicine

    Damaged DNA can spread between human cells. What could that mean for cancer?

    DNA can voyage along intercellular highways called tunneling nanotubes. It’s a phenomenon that could potentially spread tumor DNA to healthy cells.

    By Meghan Rosen
  3. Climate

    Antarctic plants may face a growing fungal threat from warming soils

    Soil DNA from Chile to the Antarctic Peninsula ties warmer climates to more plant fungal pathogens, with abundance projected to double by 2100.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  4. Archaeology

    A ‘jar’ jammed with human bones may solve Laos’ ‘Plain of Jars’ mystery

    The remains of at least 37 people in an ancient stone 'jar' in northeastern Laos suggest that thousands similar jars were used in burials.

    By Tom Metcalfe
  5. Animals

    Meet ‘Snuffleupagus,’ a newfound fish sporting shaggy camouflage

    Found near Australia, Solenostomus snuffleupagus is a shaggy swimmer that closely resembles Mr. Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street.

    By Jake Buehler
  6. Health & Medicine

    After Dobbs, miscarriage care looked different in states with abortion bans

    States with abortion bans are trending away from evidence-based miscarriage treatment that includes mifepristone, compared with states without bans.

    By Aimee Cunningham
  7. Earth

    Never-ending storms make for good plot twists. Could they plague Earth?

    While the thunderstorms in The Legend of Zelda defy physics, plenty of places on Earth experience extreme weather.

    By Aaron Tremper
  8. Animals

    Crabs’ sideways walk may have evolved just once

    A study of 50 crab species in Japan traces the iconic sideways walk to a single ancestor, suggesting the trait drove the group's remarkable diversity.

    By Sierra Bouchér
  9. Science & Society

    Our understanding of Charles Darwin continues to evolve

    Historian Janet Browne’s Darwin: A Biography lifts the curtain on the private life of Charles Darwin, one of science’s most controversial pioneers.

    By Aaron Tremper
  10. Microbes

    A Greenland explorer will eat only decaying seal for a month

    British chef Mike Keen will ski across Greenland eating only fermented seal. Researchers will study how the Inuit diet shapes gut health.

    By Sujata Gupta
  11. Physics

    Water drops on soap bubble films act like merging galaxies

    Water droplets on soap films orbited and merged like colliding galaxies, a technique that could help scientists study the cosmos.

    By Emily Conover
  12. Science & Society

    AI can take the friction out of life, but some effort can be good

    Technologies, including chatbots, promise to make life easier. But removing the friction, or effort involved in thinking, has costs.

    By Sujata Gupta