All Stories
- Planets
Scientists Say: Planet
Planets have to orbit a star, be big enough to form a sphere and keep other objects out of their path around their star.
- Chemistry
Extreme pressure? Diamonds can take it
Diamond retains its structure even at extreme pressures, which could reveal how carbon behaves in the cores of some exoplanets.
- Earth
Explainer: What are aerosols?
We may not see them, but tiny particles and droplets cloud the air, affecting its properties. Some may be pollutants, others all-natural products.
- Climate
Can wildfires cool the climate?
Severe wildfires are becoming more common. Science is showing that the tiny particles they release into the air can alter Earth’s temperature — sometimes cooling it.
- Materials Science
Super-absorbent swab could curb errors in COVID-19 testing
A new super-absorbent swab could cut down on false negatives from COVID-19 testing. And that could help slow spread of the disease.
- Animals
Giant worms may have hidden beneath the ancient seafloor to ambush prey
Twenty-million-year-old tunnels unearthed in Taiwan may have been home to creatures similar to today’s monstrous bobbit worms.
- Life
A robot made with a Venus flytrap can grab fragile objects
Scientists have “borrowed” the hair-trigger leaves of Venus flytraps to make a gentle grabber that can be controlled by a cellphone app.
- Math
Scientists Say: Outlier
Data points often fall within a normal range. When one data point sticks out a lot, it might be an outlier.
- Space
Exploding neutron star proves to be energy standout of the cosmos
This is what scientists had suspected. But until one showed up outside our galaxy, they couldn’t be sure. Now they are.
- Brain
New technology can get inside your head. Are you ready?
New technologies aim to listen to — and maybe even change — your brain activity. But just because scientists can do this, should they?
- Brain
People are concerned about tech tinkering with our minds
It’s not science fiction: Science can already eavesdrop on and influence our thoughts. Here’s what our readers think about it.
- Climate
2020 was warmest year on record for Earth’s oceans
2020 continued the trend of record-breaking heat for the world’s oceans. The three previous warmest years on record were 2019, 2017 and 2018.
