Physics
- Microbes
This material uses energy from ambient light to kill hospital superbugs
A quantum dot–powered material could help reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections, including those with drug-resistant bacteria.
- Particle Physics
The search for mysterious dark matter underdogs steps up
Dark matter particles called axions are finally being put to the test.
- Animals
In a colony, king penguins behave like molecules in a 2-D liquid
Positions of king penguins in a breeding colony resemble molecules in a 2-D liquid.
- Materials Science
Toxic chemicals turn a new material from porous to protective
A new material switches from a comfortable, breathable form to a sealed-up, protective state when exposed to dangerous chemicals.
- Science & Society
How many scientists do you know in real life?
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute ponders about memorable scientists and how we can make it easier for people to connect to their work.
- Physics
How physicists will remember Stephen Hawking
Researchers reflect on Stephen Hawking's contributions to the field and the cosmological puzzles he left behind.
- Materials Science
Eggshell nanostructure protects a chick and helps it hatch
The nanoscale structure of a chicken eggshell changes to fulfill different functions as the egg incubates.
- Materials Science
Live heart cells make this material shift color like a chameleon
A new material made of heart cells from rats and hydrogel changes color as the living cells contract and relax.
- Astronomy
Dark matter is MIA in this strange galaxy
A galaxy without dark matter bolsters the case that the invisible substance really exists.
- Physics
A single atom can gauge teensy electromagnetic forces
The force of scattering particles of light was measured in zeptonewtons, a billionth of a trillionth of a newton.
- Life
Earwigs take origami to extremes to fold their wings
Stretchy joints let earwig wings flip quickly between folded and unfurled.
- Physics
STEVE the aurora makes its debut in mauve
A newly discovered type of aurora is a visible version of usually invisible charged particles drifting in the upper atmosphere.
