All Stories
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Health & MedicineSimpler, easier COVID-19 test developed with kids in mind
Designed by moms, it avoids any need to stick an uncomfortable swab up the nose. Instead, people just swish a dental roll around their mouths.
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ChemistryCool Jobs: Saliva offers a spitting image of our health
Scientists are using this secretion to study our body’s functions, to test for disease and even to diagnose injury.
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PhysicsRaindrops on alien worlds will obey Earth-like rules
Their size will be similar no matter what they’re made of or on which planet they fall, a new analysis finds.
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AnimalsLet’s learn about dogs
From learning the names of their toys to sniffing out viruses in human sweat, dogs are far more than household pets.
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PhysicsStaying grounded in space requires artificial gravity
On TV, people in space walk around like they’re on Earth. How can science give real astronauts artificial gravity? Spin right round, baby.
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ChemistryScientists Say: Alkaline
Alkaline chemicals are basic — substances that produce hydroxide ions in solution.
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PhysicsScientists discover likely source of the moon’s faint yellow tail
These sodium atoms are part of the debris kicked up from the moon’s surface, mostly by micrometeorites, two new studies conclude.
By Sid Perkins -
A sea slug’s head can crawl around and grow a whole new body
Some chopped-up flatworms can regrow whole bodies from bits and pieces. But a sea slug head can regrow fancier organs such as hearts.
By Susan Milius -
ChemistryNew recycling technologies could keep more plastic out of landfills
Recycling plastics is really hard — especially into useful materials. But new chemical tricks could make recycling easier.
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ChemistryExplainer: What are chemical bonds?
When various particles, atoms, ions or molecules come together to form a substance, they are held together with chemical bonds.
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Science & SocietyHere’s why people picked certain stars as constellations
Patterns of human eye movement help explain why particular sets of stars form iconic shapes, a high school student showed.
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ChemistryLevel up your demonstration: Make it an experiment
What’s the difference between a demonstration and an experiment? Questions, measurements and many, many replications.