All Stories
- Animals
Nighttime lights can dim a firefly’s flash
Fireflies blink to attract mates. But when it’s too bright at night, the insects may stay away.
- Space
How the solar system’s tail disappeared
A bubble envelops the planets and other material in the solar system. New data show it does not have a long tail but is round.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Continent
A continent is a large land mass. Geologists recognize six of them — Africa, Antarctica, Eurasia, Australia, North America and South America.
- Health & Medicine
Needle-free blood typing may be on the way
A teen in Kuwait presents data suggesting how, one day, it may be possible to figure out your blood type just by shining infrared light into your skin.
- Life
Weird mega-worm found to have odd diet
Giant shipworms have bacteria in their gills that produce food for them. This has made their digestive organs shrink from lack of use.
- Health & Medicine
A light-filled box could blast bacteria from lab coats
Doctors can pick up bacteria on their lab coats. A teen has designed a special light-filled box to keep those coats from infecting others with those germs.
- Chemistry
Cool Jobs: Counting calories
Do calories count? A nutrition label doesn’t tell the whole story. Meet three researchers working to shed light on the complex connections between food and health.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: All about the calorie
Calories are a measure of how much energy is in a food. But when it comes to powering our bodies, not all calories are equally available to the body.
- Materials Science
Teen’s invention could help light up bikes at night
A teen researcher from Georgia has developed a light that could replace reflectors on bike wheels. Flexing tires provide all the power it needs.
- Animals
Toss and slap — how dolphins disarm a dangerous meal
Octopus can be a deadly meal, especially if you don’t have hands to cut it up. But dolphins in Australia have figured out how to eat octopus without choking to death.
- Brain
Analyze This: Sleep patterns vary widely across the world
Data on four very different groups of people show that sleep patterns vary based on the local environment, the culture and daily schedules.
- Health & Medicine
This mix turns pink when sunscreen wears thin
Many people know to put on sunscreen. Remembering to put more on is harder. A teen invented an indicator that glows pink when it’s time to reapply.
