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A distant icy world appears as a dark disk with a thin glowing halo, with a line of repeated bright points showing a distant star at multiple positions.

Planetary Science

A small object past Pluto may have a thin atmosphere

A brief stellar eclipse suggests the tiny 2002 XV₉₃ has a thin atmosphere — a first for any solar system body farther from the sun than Pluto.

By Lisa Grossman13 hours ago

Blue and red brain cells called astrocytes appear inside of a mouse's brain. The image is on a black background.

Newly mapped brain networks link far-flung regions

By Laura Sanders15 hours ago

A collage of flowers on a blue background.

Plants

Celebrate America’s 250th birthday at a new state flower exhibit

By Cassie MartinMay 1, 2026

Partially filled syringes and red pill capsules are laid in a pattern on a pink background, in a way to illustrate how peptides may be administered.

Health & Medicine

Peptides are unproven as health aids. FDA may unleash them anyway

By Jamie DucharmeMay 1, 2026

Fluorescent microscope images of three ciliate protozoa from the rumen (first stomach) of cattle. The one on the left is egg-shaped and covered in waves of green, yellow and red hairlike cilia. In the center a clear, red goblet-shaped organism is topped by a bright orange shock of cilia. On the right is a green and yellow microbe that resembles an oval Koosh ball with a blue-green oval in the center. The center oval is the nucleus. These organisms have a newly discovered organelle that makes hydrogen and spurs other microbes to produce methane.

Life

Cows’ methane burps may be fueled by a newfound organelle in gut microbes

By Tina Hesman SaeyApril 30, 2026

Doctors review medical scans. AI could help improve diagnoses.

Health & Medicine

Can AI help doctors avoid missed diagnoses? A new study suggests yes

By Kathryn HulickApril 30, 2026

A black-and-white ultrasound image of a baby in the womb.

Health & Medicine

Prenatal surgery for spina bifida may get a boost from stem cells

By Meghan RosenApril 29, 2026

We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

Spotlight on Health

Partially filled syringes and red pill capsules are laid in a pattern on a pink background, in a way to illustrate how peptides may be administered.

Peptides are unproven as health aids. FDA may unleash them anyway

Rather than reining in the compounds, the FDA may be poised to broaden access, perhapas even adding peptides to supplements. Experts say “buyer beware.”

By Jamie DucharmeMay 1, 2026
Can AI help doctors avoid missed diagnoses? A new study suggests yes
Prenatal surgery for spina bifida may get a boost from stem cells

Science News Magazine

May 2026 cover of Science News

May 1, 2026 Vol. 208 No. 5

From Science News Investors Lab

Featured Media

A collage of flowers on a blue background.

Celebrate America’s 250th birthday at a new state flower exhibit

Stop and smell America’s state flowers at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., open now through October 12, 2026.

A black-and-white ultrasound image of a baby in the womb.

Prenatal surgery for spina bifida may get a boost from stem cells

Wispy red and blue clouds form a tie-dye pattern in this false color image of a stellar nursery.

Clouds of water ice thread stellar nurseries in the Milky Way

This kea parrot is the first-known disabled alpha male

A blacklegged tick is shown sitting on a stick with its front legs extended and looking to get picked up by a mammal

A vaccine for Lyme disease could be on the horizon

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More Stories

Life

Smithsonian secrets most likely to blow your mind

By Meghan Rosen and Stephen VossApril 14, 2026
Talking dogs and chatty cats could one day ‘speak’ in our language

By Laura SandersApril 13, 2026
An African monkey ate a rope squirrel and came down with mpox

By Erin Garcia de JesúsFebruary 24, 2026

Humans

Have a taste of our favorite food stories from 2025

By Carly KayDecember 24, 2025
‘Black Religion in the Madhouse’ examines psychiatry and race post-Civil War

By Aimee CunninghamDecember 12, 2025
Ancient southern Africans took genetic evolution in a new direction

By Bruce BowerDecember 3, 2025

Climate

Emperor penguins are marching toward extinction. Antarctica fur seals too

By Carolyn GramlingApril 9, 2026
City skylines influence cloud formation above them

By Larissa G. CapellaMarch 17, 2026
Extreme heat is cutting the time people can safely be active outdoors

By Nikk OgasaMarch 16, 2026

Astronomy

The earliest evidence of the first stars may lie in a distant gas clump

By Mara Johnson-GrohApril 24, 2026
A rare star in a tiny galaxy preserves a record of the early universe

By Jay BennettMarch 27, 2026
A strange ‘chirp’ in a brilliant stellar blast points to a magnetar

By Jay BennettMarch 11, 2026

Physics

The secret to perfect espresso? It’s physics

By Taylor Mitchell BrownApril 24, 2026
A new measurement reveals gravity is still hard to pin down

By Mara Johnson-GrohApril 16, 2026
Water has a newfound ‘critical point’ that may help explain its quirks

By Emily ConoverMarch 26, 2026

Health & Medicine

This dangerous pregnancy complication is common. A new treatment might help

By Tina Hesman SaeyApril 27, 2026
An experimental new drug for stiff person syndrome restores mobility

By Meghan RosenApril 22, 2026
Suicide deaths in U.S. teens and young adults fell after 988 launch

By Aimee CunninghamApril 22, 2026

Earth

Seismic data captured the sound of awe during a solar eclipse

By Maria TemmingApril 29, 2026
Can ‘extinct’ volcanoes still erupt? A Greek peak holds surprising clues

By Skyler WareApril 28, 2026
Earth’s continental plates were moving 3.48 billion years ago

By Douglas FoxMarch 19, 2026

Science & Society

Know the legal age to buy tobacco products in the U.S.? Many parents don’t

By Aimee CunninghamApril 17, 2026
Snippets of hair may expose chronic stress in war refugees

By Sujata GuptaApril 6, 2026
Pronatalists want more babies. Their solutions aren’t rooted in science

By Sujata GuptaMarch 31, 2026