Topics

Chemistry

illustration of Rudolph covered with snow and with his nose lit up

Animals

Rudolph’s red nose could glow through bioluminescence

Simple chemistry could give the reindeer his iconic red snout. But physics would make it look different colors to anyone who spied Rudolph from the ground.

By Maria TemmingDecember 3, 2025

A jar of milk is photographed from above. Four small ants with black bodies are floating in the milk amid bubbles. The ants' abdomens are brownish red.

Ants are the secret ingredient to this tasty yogurt

By Erin Garcia de JesúsNovember 24, 2025

Let’s learn about surprising uses for human waste

By Maria TemmingNovember 4, 2025

Earth

a polar bear stands on a sheet of ice with a bloody carcass of a dead animal in front of it, while seagulls stand nearby

Animals

Polar bears leave thousands of tons of food scraps for other species

The new finding quantifies how much of polar bears' food goes uneaten. As these bears decline, Arctic scavengers risk losing a critical food source.

By Gennaro TommaDecember 12, 2025

In this photo, a citizen scientist studies bleached corals off the coast of Thailand in June 2024. Marine heat waves devastated 80 percent of the world's warm water coral reefs in 2024. Projections for warming by 2030 suggest the world's corals are past their tipping point.

Climate

Global coral die-offs signal Earth’s first climate tipping point

By Carolyn GramlingDecember 11, 2025

a plate holds a meal of lab-grown chicken with vegetables

Tech

Let’s learn about lab-grown meat

By Carly KayDecember 9, 2025

Humans

a teen girl sits on a couch holding a mug, sleepily rubbing one of her eyes

Humans

Scientists Say: Chronohygiene

Artificial lights and other aspects of modern life can confuse our body’s internal sleep clock. But a few minor changes may grant us much-needed control.

By Katie Grace Carpenter3 hours ago

Humans

How to invent a language — like that of Avatar’s Na’vi

By Maria TemmingDecember 4, 2025

An artist rendering of a translucent purple cell with bright orange chromosomes going through meiosis.

Scientists created human egg cells from skin cells

By Tina Hesman SaeyDecember 1, 2025

Life

a teen girl sits on a couch holding a mug, sleepily rubbing one of her eyes

Humans

Scientists Say: Chronohygiene

Artificial lights and other aspects of modern life can confuse our body’s internal sleep clock. But a few minor changes may grant us much-needed control.

By Katie Grace Carpenter3 hours ago

a polar bear stands on a sheet of ice with a bloody carcass of a dead animal in front of it, while seagulls stand nearby

Animals

Polar bears leave thousands of tons of food scraps for other species

By Gennaro TommaDecember 12, 2025

a plate holds a meal of lab-grown chicken with vegetables

Tech

Let’s learn about lab-grown meat

By Carly KayDecember 9, 2025

Math

in a row of petri dishes, the number of red beads doubles in each dish from 1 to 2 to 4 to 8 to 16 to 32

Math

Scientists Say: Exponent

These powerful little superscripts may be simpler than you thought.

By Katie Grace CarpenterDecember 9, 2025

black and white image of a Paratuposa placentis beetle

Physics

Comb-like wings help the tiniest insects swim through ‘syrupy’ air

By Larissa G. CapellaOctober 8, 2025

a photo of a red rose against a black background

Plants

Physics explains how rose petals get their iconic shape

By Sarah WellsSeptember 15, 2025

Physics

a girl in a parka, gloves and boots stands on a sheet of ice and snow with her hands out in front of her to levitate a ball of seawater into the air

Physics

Here’s how to levitate something without magic

Levitation may seem like fantasy. But all it takes is a little physics — and sound waves, magnetism or electricity.

By Maria TemmingDecember 10, 2025

illustration of Rudolph covered with snow and with his nose lit up

Animals

Rudolph’s red nose could glow through bioluminescence

By Maria TemmingDecember 3, 2025

A water bottle dangles from a lacy, vase-shaped parachute.

Physics

These parachutes unfurl thanks to Japanese paper-cutting techniques

By Emily ConoverDecember 2, 2025

Science & Society

Game designer Susannah Emery stands behind a statue of a camera. She is a white woman with brown eyes and brunette hair. She is wearing glasses and a muted green jacket.

Science & Society

This game designer shares neurodivergent experiences through gaming

Inspired by her own experiences, Susannah Emery designs games that raise awareness about neurodivergence and social issues.

By Aaron Tremper3 hours ago

Humans

How to invent a language — like that of Avatar’s Na’vi

By Maria TemmingDecember 4, 2025

two teen girls stand side by side with their arms crossed in front of a science fair project poster

Animals

Liquid from African tulip trees may protect honeybees from pests

By Maria TemmingDecember 2, 2025

Space

a set of crescent-shaped rings of different colors encircle earth

Earth

Scientists Say: Van Allen belts

Astronomers have detected these radiation belts around Earth and beyond. Jupiter’s belt is thousands of times as intense as Earth’s.

By Katie Grace CarpenterDecember 1, 2025

a composite image showing Smith's Cloud and the Milky Way

Space

Fast, mysterious clouds swarm around our galaxy

By Stephen OrnesNovember 20, 2025

A supermoon rises over a lighthouse on Kidston Island off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada

Earth

Scientists Say: Supermoon

By Katie Grace CarpenterNovember 10, 2025

Tech

Game designer Susannah Emery stands behind a statue of a camera. She is a white woman with brown eyes and brunette hair. She is wearing glasses and a muted green jacket.

Science & Society

This game designer shares neurodivergent experiences through gaming

Inspired by her own experiences, Susannah Emery designs games that raise awareness about neurodivergence and social issues.

By Aaron Tremper3 hours ago

a girl in a parka, gloves and boots stands on a sheet of ice and snow with her hands out in front of her to levitate a ball of seawater into the air

Physics

Here’s how to levitate something without magic

By Maria TemmingDecember 10, 2025

a plate holds a meal of lab-grown chicken with vegetables

Tech

Let’s learn about lab-grown meat

By Carly KayDecember 9, 2025