All Stories
- Plants
For some trees, acting as lightning rods helps them survive
Being struck by lightning is usually bad. But for one tropical tree, a mighty zap can kill rivals and parasitic vines.
- Tech
Soft helpers and bio-inspired tech: a match made in robot heaven
Hugging toys offer emotional support to anxious kids and slithering snake-like robots may bring rescue aid to people trapped in dangerous conditions.
- Health & Medicine
Nearsighted? Teens’ benefits from special contacts can be lasting
Multifocal contact lenses stop the progression of myopia — and the benefits can last even after use of these special lenses ends.
- Space
Scientists Say: Interstellar medium
Radiant energy and primordial space dust span the vast reaches between star systems.
- Chemistry
Teen finds cheaper way to make drugs against killer viruses
This drug-making achievement also nabbed the top award — and $100,000 in prize money — at the 2025 Regeneron ISEF competition.
- Space
Is the International Space Station too clean?
Testing surfaces on board the space station revealed low microbial diversity, something that’s been linked to health problems elsewhere.
- Artificial Intelligence
Teen’s software for spotting AI-generated text just got personal
Rather than seeking generic signs of AI-generated text, it compares two texts to confirm they both share a writer’s unique style.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI, make me a video game
Developers can use AI to generate code, dialog, playable environments and more. But at its heart, making video games remains a creative human endeavor.
- Chemistry
Micro-sparks between water droplets may have started life on Earth
This micro-lightning can drive chemical reactions that produce compounds needed for the natural formation of life on Earth, experiments show.
- Planets
Mars’ rust suggests it was once wet — and its seas frigid
Mars may once have held enough water to fill oceans and form coastlines. And the planet’s red dust hints that its seas would have been quite frigid.
- Plants
Let’s learn about plant movement
Some plants use their powers of superspeed to spread spores, while others use it to snatch up prey.
- Animals
Some iguanas may have rafted across the Pacific 30 million years ago
The iguanas' epic 8,000-kilometer trip — one-fifth of Earth’s circumference — may be the longest made by a flightless land vertebrate.
