All Stories
- Animals
Scientists Say: Apoptosis
When it’s time for cells to die, they need to do it carefully, so they don’t harm other cells.
- Animals
Please do not touch the Australian stinging tree
Stinging-tree leaves look soft and inviting, but one touch delivers agony. Structurally, the plant's painful chemical looks a lot like spider venom.
- Planets
There’s water on sunny parts of the moon, scientists confirm
The new observations were made by a telescope on board a jet in Earth’s atmosphere. They confirm the presence of water on sunlit areas of the moon.
- Health & Medicine
Third major vaccine shows great promise against COVID-19
This vaccine, which may be easier to get to the public, appears to be 90 percent effective at halting disease and maybe spread of the new coronavirus.
- Animals
The diabolical ironclad beetle is nearly unsquishable
The diabolical ironclad beetle is an incredibly tough little creature. A peek inside its exoskeleton reveals what makes it virtually uncrushable.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Puberty
Puberty is a time when hormones surge and people develop the ability to have children. But it’s so much more than that.
- Materials Science
This artificial skin feels ‘ghosts’ — things you wish were there
Engineers have developed a wearable device that simulates the sense of touch. It may benefit robotic surgery and deep-sea exploration.
- Health & Medicine
Warning! Junk foods can harm a teen’s brain
The adolescent brain has a hard time resisting junk food. But high-fat, high-sugar diets can interfere with learning and pose risks to mental health.
- Health & Medicine
Teen athletes with even mild COVID-19 can develop heart problems
COVID-positive student athletes, some with no symptoms, have developed heart inflammation and more. They are new reasons to limit coronavirus exposure.
- Climate
Surprising long-haul dust and tar are melting high glaciers
Dust and tar blown onto high mountains, like the Himalayas, boost the melting of snow and ice far more than scientists had realized. Here’s why.
- Health & Medicine
Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 appears nearly 95 percent effective
A second coronavirus vaccine appears super effective in preventing people from being sickened by COVID-19.
- Animals
This snake rips open a living toad to feast on its organs
A particularly gruesome way to kill may help small-banded kukri snakes avoid a deadly poison secreted from the neck and backs of some toads.
