All Stories
- Earth
News Brief: Smokin’ plants
A new study points out how some herb teas and spices could have accidentally picked up nicotine from the smokers working around them.
- Health & Medicine
News Brief: Ebola’s dead stay infectious for a week
The Ebola virus doesn’t die with its victims — at least not right away. A corpse may host live virus for up to a week after death, a new study finds.
- Materials Science
Cool Jobs: Big future for super small science
Scientists using nanotechnology grow super-small but very useful tubes with walls no more than a few carbon atoms thick. Find out why as we meet three scientists behind this huge new movement in nanoscience.
- Chemistry
Form some bonds with a chemistry card game
A new game can make aspects of learning chemistry fun. Pair charged elements together to create neutral compounds. Win points in the process.
- Physics
News Brief: As timely as it gets
A newly modified atomic clock won’t lose or gain a second for 15 billion years. This timepiece is about three times more precise than an earlier version.
- Health & Medicine
Mystery solved: Why knuckles crack
Scientists have puzzled over what makes that loud sound when our knuckles “crack.” Bubbles appear to play a role, but not in popping.
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Cookie Science 15: Results aren’t always sweet
From my latest experiment, I now know how to make a cookie that my friend can enjoy. But here’s a puzzle: I could not repeat some results from my first set of tests.
- Space
Radio telescope picks up signals from intelligent life
Astronomers tracked down the source of perytons, mysterious radio bursts. They had at first seemed to emanate from Earth’s atmosphere. Probing now suggests the life forms responsible had a penchant for leftovers.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Hormone
This is a chemical that travels in the blood and acts as a signal. It can tell distant body parts what to do. When a chemical acts in this way, it has a special name.
- Health & Medicine
Movies may tempt teens to drink
British 15-year-olds were more likely to binge-drink or have alcohol-related problems if they watched movies with plenty of onscreen drinking.
- Earth
Deep-sea fish show signs of exposure to pollution
A new study suggests deep-water fish may have health problems linked to human pollution. Eating these fish may expose diners to the same pollution.
- Agriculture
Ditching farm pollution — literally
An Indiana project shows how fighting fertilizer runoff can save farmers money, protect wild habitats and prevent harmful algae blooms.
