All Stories
- Physics
Explainer: All about orbits
A handful of rules can describe the route some object repeatedly takes around another in space. Calculating that path, however, can be quite complex.
- Science & Society
This sun-powered system delivers energy as it pulls water from the air
The device not only produces electricity but also harvests water for drinking or crops. It could be especially useful in remote and dry parts of the world.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Atmosphere
An atmosphere is an envelope of gas around a planet, dwarf planet or moon.
- Materials Science
This new fabric can ‘hear’ sounds or broadcast them
With special fibers that convert tiny vibrations to voltages, a new fabric senses sound. Someday, such fabrics could monitor the body or aid hearing.
- Animals
Losing some genes may explain how vampire bats can live on blood
Loss of 13 genes active in other bats could support the vampires’ blood-eating strategies and adaptations.
- Environment
Night lights make even the seas bright
Light from coastal cities and offshore development may shine deep enough to disrupt tiny critters living dozens of meters (yards) below the surface.
- Materials Science
Let’s learn about the future of smart clothing
Researchers are fashioning new materials to make clothes more comfortable and convenient.
- Computing
Facial expressions could be used to interact in virtual reality
New technology allows people to interact with virtual environments using just their facial expressions.
- Space
Scientists Say: Constellation
Constellations are clusters of related things, especially the stars that form patterns in the night sky — some of which date back to ancient times.
- Animals
Infected caterpillars become zombies that climb to their deaths
By tampering with genes involved in vision, a virus can send caterpillars on a doomed quest for sunlight.
- Brain
Lying won’t stretch your nose, but it will steal some brainpower
The science of lying shows that most people don’t lie often. But when they do, it takes a surprising toll on their brains.
- Planets
Mercury’s surface may be studded with diamonds
Billions of years of meteorite impacts may have transformed much of Mercury's graphite crust into precious gemstones.
