All Stories
- Archaeology
60,000-year-old poison arrowheads show early humans’ hunting tactics
Traces of poison on the South African arrowheads hint that people used poisoned weapons 50,000 years earlier than previously thought.
- Health & Medicine
Got brain rot?
Excessive scrolling through social media or viral videos can mess with your mental health — and possibly alter your brain’s development, studies show.
- Science & Society
Stressed by tech? Here’s how to find help
This checklist can help you assess and improve your experiences — and your mental health.
- Science & Society
Large numbers of underage kids are on social media, study finds
Two in every three kids aged 8 to 12 have already been on social media, and one-tenth have been bullied there. Some kids report other bad experiences too.
- Agriculture
This engineer designed a device to make farm work easier
Juan Espinoza engineered a device to help ease physical demands on workers at citrus farms.
- Animals
A bonobo’s imaginary tea party hints that apes can pretend
Kanzi would sometimes play with imaginary juice and grapes, just as humans might. The bonobo's ability challenges old ideas about how animals think.
- Space
Scientists Say: Bolide
It starts as a flash. Then comes the sonic boom. The boldest meteors often go out with a bang.
- Oceans
The sea surface covered by seaweed is now as big as South America
The first global mapping of macroalgae blooms in the ocean, last year, reveals rapid growth and a new record for the area seaweed blankets.
- Physics
Why do objects shatter the same way? Math solves the mystery
When objects shatter, the pieces come in many sizes. This simple theory now explains why the fragment size distribution is almost always the same.
- Ecosystems
The Okefenokee’s dark waters hold secrets about climate and more
This Georgia peat swamp’s vast stores of carbon and water are under threat from mining and pollution. Scientists and locals are fighting to protect it.
- Science & Society
Volcanic ash might have helped spread the Black Death to Europe
A volcanic eruption might have triggered events that led Italy to import grain — food that arrived in ships infested with plague-infected rats.
- Health & Medicine
A new cell model could help kids and teens with arthritis
This model was built by a teenager with juvenile idiopathic arthritis — a poorly understood chronic illness.
