All Stories by Maria Temming
- Animals
Stinky penguin poop strikes fear into the hearts of Antarctic krill
A chemical in Adélie penguin guano may have cued krill to take evasive maneuvers in lab tests.
- Physics
A cosmic neutrino of unknown origins smashes energy records
A deep-sea detector glimpsed a particle with 220 million billion electron volts of energy — around 20 times as energetic as any neutrino seen before.
- Earth
Ghostly white northern lights present new auroral mystery
These mysterious whitish-gray glows in the northern lights might be cousins of the mauve light streak known as STEVE.
- Archaeology
Archaeology’s top discoveries of 2024 include preserved brains and a lost city
From the plight of ancient Egyptian scribes to the identities of ancient Maya sacrifices, 2024 brought a rich medley of insights into human history.
- Space
These discoveries in 2024 could be groundbreaking — if they’re true
Did microbes ever live on Mars? Did an "elevator" help build Egypt’s first pyramid? Some signs pointed to yes this year, but confirmation is still needed.
- Humans
A phone app could help people have lucid dreams
New experiments show that an app developed by researchers can boost snoozing users’ likelihood of knowing when they are having a dream.
- Environment
How much is climate change to blame for extreme weather?
Scientists can estimate how much more likely or severe some past natural disasters were due to human-caused climate change. Here's how.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, antibiotic resistant bacteria became a problem outside hospitals
Infections from drug-resistant bacteria have skyrocketed over the last 50 years. Now, new technologies could help doctors save lives.
- Animals
50 years ago, scientists wondered how birds find their way home
In the 1970s, lab tests hinted that birds can navigate using magnetic fields. New studies suggest that beak and eye proteins are behind the ability.
- Psychology
Timbre can affect what harmony is music to our ears
The acoustic qualities of instruments may have influenced variations in musical scales and preferred harmonies.
- Anthropology
50 years ago, evidence showed that an extinct human ancestor walked upright
Fossil finds have since pushed back the ability of hominids to walk on two legs by millions of years.
- Life
These scientific discoveries set new records in 2023
This year’s record-breaking findings shed new light on human history and the most amazing feats in the animal kingdom.
