All Stories
- Health & Medicine
Finding cells that stop our body from attacking itself lands a Nobel
Shimon Sakaguchi won for discovering T-reg immune cells. Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell won for showing the cells’ role in autoimmune disease.
- Plants
Unlock pinecone secrets with this science activity
Let’s find out how pinecones respond to different temperatures — by mimicking changes in weather from the comfort of our own kitchens!
- Space
Scientists Say: Space junk
High-velocity space junk threatens space missions today. And the problem is growing.
- Environment
During heat waves, trees spew chemicals that worsen air pollution
New data point to how heat waves and other climate change will make it harder to curb ozone and other types of toxic air pollution — even outside of cities.
- Archaeology
Knotted strands of 500-year-old hair tell a surprising story
Used in a device called a khipu, the hair reveals the owner’s simple diet. Those data now suggest that in Incan society, even some commoners kept records.
- Animals
Save the sharks to save the ocean
Humans have driven sharks and their cousins to the brink of extinction, but it’s not too late to turn the tide. At stake is the health of the entire ocean.
- Animals
Explainer: What is a shark?
These fish have skeletons made of cartilage, not bone — and aren’t nearly as scary as portrayed in the media.
- Materials Science
Scientists transform pee into a golden opportunity
By transforming urine into a valuable medical product, scientists hope to change how we view this human waste.
- Animals
A shark encounter inspired this researcher’s career in marine biology
Heidy Martinez never wanted to study sharks as a kid. That changed after encountering a white shark in South Africa.
- Physics
New theory may at last explain a swamp’s ghostly will-o’-the-wisps
Chemists have spotted tiny zaps of electricity moving between “swamp-gas” bubbles. Could they ignite methane gas to glow as dancing blue flames?
- Environment
See how aerosols fly through Earth’s skies
These small airborne particles may offset one-third of human-caused climate warming. But the cooling influence of aerosols is fading.
- Ecosystems
Scientists Say: Transplant
Transplant means to move something from one place to another. A transplant can involve something as small as a cell or as large as a whole population.
