All Stories by Meghan Rosen
- Psychology
Suicide rates drop in big cities
With more social connections, people may be less inclined to take their own lives.
- Health & Medicine
Urine test detects not pregnancy but cancer
A paper strip uses nanoparticles to pick up evidence of tumors or blood clots in mice.
- Animals
A tiny ocean vortex, with pop art pizzazz
Coral polyps kick up a whirling vortex of water by whipping their hairlike cilia back and forth in the photography winner of the 2013 International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge.
- Materials Science
Making artificial muscles with a spin
Scientists have given ordinary fishing line and sewing thread a new twist. When coiled into tight corkscrews, the fibers can lift loads more than 100 times as heavy as those hefted by human muscles.
- Tech
Termite-inspired robots build structures without central command
Simple guidelines keep machines hauling and placing bricks.
- Ecosystems
Amazon doesn’t actually go green in dry seasons
An optical illusion in satellite data made forests appear to grow faster.
- Materials Science
Etched glass stops cracks in their tracks
Adding wavy lines to glass reduces the material’s notorious brittleness.
- Earth
Life’s early traces
Tiny tufts, rolls and crinkles in 3.5-billion-year-old rocks add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that cellular life got a relatively quick start on Earth.
- Planetary Science
Old rover finds new evidence of water on Mars
Opportunity’s analysis of rocks at Endeavour crater reveals chemistry that could have supported life.
- Ecosystems
Trees’ growth keeps climbing with age
Older trees pack on weight faster, making them potentially the best carbon collectors.
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- Genetics
Year in Review: Caffeine triggers cloning advance
To successfully clone human cells, eggs must be dunked in the stimulant.
