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A smiling child swings a pink hula hoop around their waist.

Physics

Hula-hooping robots reveal the physics behind keeping rings aloft

The gyrations of hoop-slinging robots reveal that hourglass-shaped objects are best at keeping a hoop in the air.

By Emily Conover53 minutes ago

A sepia-toned illustration of a group of early humans, or australopithecus, collecting vegetation

Life

Early human ancestors didn’t regularly eat meat

By Jake Buehler20 hours ago

Dry, cracked earth rings a depleted reservoir in California after many years of drought.

Megadroughts are on the rise worldwide

By Carolyn Gramling20 hours ago

A bright yellow orb of an exoplanet with a dark shadowy streak running almost all the way across it

Planetary Science

A crumbling exoplanet spills its guts

By Lisa Grossman24 hours ago

A dairy farm worker kneels by a row of cows while preparing to hook up milking machinery.

Health & Medicine

What bird flu experts are watching for in 2025

By McKenzie PrillamanJanuary 16, 2025

Two stone disks engraved with circles and lines against a black background.

Ancient, engraved stones may have been buried to summon the sun

By Richard KemenyJanuary 15, 2025

A red gummy bear sits on a jumble of yellow, white and red gummy bears. The red color may be due to Red No. 3, a dye now banned by the FDA.

Why the FDA banned the common food dye Red No. 3

By Meghan RosenJanuary 15, 2025

Spotlight on Health

Chickens in a fenced-in yard.

What to know about the first bird flu–related death in the U.S.

H5N1 has infected 66 people in the United States since early 2024, mostly causing mild illness. A Louisiana man was the first to get severely sick.

By McKenzie PrillamanJanuary 7, 2025
Is alcohol linked to cancer? Here’s what the science says
U.S. dementia cases may rise to 1 million per year by 2060

Science News Magazine

Cover of January 2025 issue of Science News magazine

January 1, 2025 Vol. 207 No. 1

From the Archives

Job Satisfaction

January 11, 1975 Vol. 107 No. #2

2024 in Review

brain scan psilocybin

These are the 5 most popular Science News stories of 2024

Science News drew millions of visitors to our website this year. Here’s a recap of the most-read and most-watched news stories of 2024.

Illustration of an asteroid hitting Antarctica

These scientific feats set new records in 2024

a photo of the rocks

Archaeology’s top discoveries of 2024 include preserved brains and a lost city

An artist's illustration of the Europa Clipper spacecraft flying over Jupiter's icy moon Europa.

Space missions spanned the solar system in 2024

An illustration of a data center.

Generative AI is an energy hog. Is the tech worth the environmental cost?

More Year in Review Stories

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More Stories

Life

Toxin-gobbling bacteria may live on poison dart frog skin

By Jake BuehlerJanuary 15, 2025
These are our favorite animal stories of 2024

By Darren IncorvaiaDecember 18, 2024
Sheep earwax can record a dangerous diet

By Jake BuehlerDecember 17, 2024

Humans

How child soldiers heal after the trauma of war

By Elizabeth QuillJanuary 10, 2025
Dietary evidence bolsters Clovis hunters’ reputation as mammoth killers

By Anna GibbsDecember 4, 2024
A phone app could help people have lucid dreams

By Maria TemmingNovember 4, 2024

Climate

2024 was Earth’s hottest year on record, passing a dangerous warming threshold

By Carolyn GramlingJanuary 10, 2025
California wildfire season should be over. So why is L.A. burning?

By Nikk OgasaJanuary 8, 2025
Climate change made 2024 the hottest year on record. The heat was deadly

By Carolyn Gramling and Nikk OgasaDecember 5, 2024

Astronomy

Astronomers see the astrosphere of a sunlike star for the first time

By Lisa GrossmanDecember 6, 2024
This is the first close-up image of a star beyond our galaxy

By Sophie HartleyNovember 21, 2024
A cosmic census triples the known number of black holes in dwarf galaxies

By Lisa GrossmanNovember 8, 2024

Physics

Fiber friction is the key to cozy knits

By Emily ConoverDecember 23, 2024
Eyelashes’ special features help fling water from the eyes

By Emily ConoverDecember 20, 2024
Notre Dame is reopening. What does that mean for its acoustics?

By Emily ConoverDecember 6, 2024

Health & Medicine

Lethal snake venom may be countered by new AI-designed proteins

By Meghan RosenJanuary 15, 2025
Obesity needs a new definition beyond BMI, health experts argue

By McKenzie PrillamanJanuary 14, 2025
Got a cold? A placebo might help

By Laura SandersJanuary 14, 2025

Earth

Scientists predict an undersea volcano eruption near Oregon in 2025

By Rachel BerkowitzDecember 27, 2024
Earth’s inner core may be changing shape

By Nikk OgasaDecember 12, 2024
The 2004 tsunami killed hundreds of thousands. Are we better prepared now?

By Carolyn GramlingDecember 11, 2024

Science & Society

These are Science News’ favorite books of 2024

By Science News StaffDecember 10, 2024
A new biography of Benjamin Franklin puts science at the forefront

By Emily ConoverNovember 29, 2024
This ‘hidden figure’ of entomology fought for civil rights

By Susan MiliusNovember 27, 2024