All Stories
- Physics
Scientists Say: Piezoelectric
Piezoelectric materials produce an electric voltage when they are bent or squished. This can let us harvest electricity from movement.
- Health & Medicine
Five questions about COVID-19 vaccine trials in teens, answered
Scientists are now testing COVID-19 vaccines in teens. Why do teens need a separate trial? And what would happen? We’ve got answers.
- Physics
Physicists have clocked the shortest time span ever
The experiment revealed how long it takes light to cross a hydrogen molecule: just a couple hundred zeptoseconds.
- Environment
Unmasking the pandemic’s pollution problem
Discarding all the materials people use to protect themselves from COVID-19 has created a growing environmental problem.
- Chemistry
A new catalyst turns greenhouse gas into jet fuel
The catalyst is an improvement over its predecessors. Made of cheap materials like iron, it produces jet fuel in a single step.
- Animals
Let’s learn about taste
Taste tells us what’s good to eat, but scientists are still learning about how it works.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Body Mass Index
This is someone’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters. But it’s not a measure of someone’s health.
- Animals
Some electric eels coordinate their attacks to zap prey
Electric eels were thought be to lone hunters — until researchers observed more than 100 eels hunting together. Their coordinated electric attacks corralled prey.
- Humans
Some identical twins don’t have the exact same DNA
Identical twins may not be exactly identical. Mutations may arise early in development that account for tiny genetic differences between siblings.
- Ecosystems
Can people protect as much space as nature needs?
To save biodiversity, nations are drafting a plan to protect 30 percent of Earth by 2030. Up for debate is how best to do that.
- Physics
What did you say? Fabric masks can really muffle voices
Some types of face masks muffle speech more than others — something that teachers should take into account.
- Agriculture
Honeybees fend off deadly hornets by decorating hives with poop
Bees usually collect pollen and nectar. Scientists were surprised to find that Asian honeybees also gather animal dung to defend their hives.
