All Stories

  1. Animals

    This massive ancient whale may be the heaviest animal ever known

    Called Perucetus colossus, it may have tipped the scales at up to 340 metric tons — more than today’s blue whales.

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  2. Psychology

    Spending time in green spaces can provide big health benefits

    Walking through a park or playing in a yard can make you feel better, both mentally and physically. Here’s how — and evidence it works for people at any age.

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  3. Animals

    This egg-eater may have the biggest gulp of any snake its size

    Slither aside, Burmese pythons. This little African snake has a truly outsized swallow.

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  4. Archaeology

    Let’s learn about Stonehenge

    Questions remain about exactly who built Stonehenge and why. But some details are known about the site’s origins.

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  5. Chemistry

    Scientists Say: Rare earth element

    Rare earth elements aren’t all that rare — but skyrocketing demand for these metals makes them precious.

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  6. Brain

    A rat’s playfulness relies on cells in one part of its brain

    Certain cells here control its behavior. Studying this circuitry could also help us understand depression in people.

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  7. Animals

    A new technique creates glowing whole-body maps of mice

    Removing cholesterol from mouse bodies lets fluorescent proteins seep into every tissue. That has helped researchers map entire body parts.

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  8. Agriculture

    Crops are being engineered to thrive in our changing climate

    Plants are already the best carbon catchers on Earth. New research could make them even better.

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  9. Animals

    Toothed whales use their noses to whistle and click

    Much as people do, toothed whales, such as dolphins and sperm whales, make noises in three different vocal registers.

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  10. Earth

    Take candy core samples with this science activity

    Act like a geologist as you drill ‘core samples’ from candy bars using a straw. Can you identify the type of candy bar just from a sample?

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  11. Agriculture

    Cow dung spews a climate-warming gas. Adding algae could limit that

    But how useful this is depends on whether cows eat the red algae, a type of seaweed — or it gets added to their wastes after they’re pooped out.

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  12. We’re running an audio experiment

    Science News Explores is running an experiment. We’re providing audio recordings of stories, made with Amazon Polly, along with the written story. Read, listen or both!

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