All Stories

  1. Animals

    Scientists Say: Evolution

    Evolution is how species change over time. Individuals in the group vary, and some will pass on their genes. Over time, the whole species changes.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  2. Brain

    Kids use more of the brain than adults do to process language

    The brain continues to grow and mature throughout childhood. One big change occurs in which parts of the brain turn on as someone processes language.

    By Diane Lincoln
  3. Tech

    Computers are changing how art is made

    Some people have challenged the idea that artificial intelligence can be creative. But new software can provide inspiration to artists or fully partner with them in the creative process.

    By Stephen Ornes
  4. Computing

    Explainer: What is an algorithm?

    These step-by-step instructions underlie social media, internet searches and other computer-based activities. But what are they exactly? We explain.

    By Melissa L. Weber
  5. Psychology

    Handwriting beats typing when it comes to taking class notes

    Taking notes with a pen or pencil triggers activity in parts of the brain important for memory and for storing new information.

    By Diane Lincoln
  6. Animals

    Analyze This: Ropes restore a gibbon highway through a rainforest

    When endangered Hainan gibbons started making risky leaps across an area mowed down by a landslide, researchers provided them a rope bridge.

    By Carolyn Wilke
  7. Health & Medicine

    Explainer: What is a spike protein?

    These proteins, which give coronaviruses their name, also help them to infect cells.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  8. Health & Medicine

    New Pfizer vaccine appears 90 percent effective against COVID-19

    Preliminary finds show one of the new coronavirus vaccines appears 90 percent effective at reducing symptomatic COVID-19 infections.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  9. Animals

    Attack of the inner-cannibal mega-shark

    The outsized megalodon was a fierce terror that chewed its way across the oceans. It learned to kill even before it was born.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  10. Planets

    Let’s learn about Mars

    Traveling to Mars offers many challenges, including life without gravity, cosmic rays and communication delays.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  11. Brain

    Scientists Say: Nucleus

    Nucleus comes from the Latin term “nuc,” meaning nut or kernel. In science there are lots of nuclei. Every one of them is the center of something.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  12. Animals

    Jumping ‘snake worms’ are invading U.S. forests

    These bad-news invaders are spreading across the United States. As they turn forest debris into bare ground, soils and ecosystems are changing.

    By Megan Sever