All Stories
- Earth
News Brief: Volcano in Japan kills dozens
Japan’s Mount Ontake is a favorite hiking spot. But an unexpected midday eruption on September 27 surprised hundreds on the mountain. Unable to escape, dozens near the summit died.
- Microbes
Recycling the dead
When things die, nature breaks them down through a process we know as rot. Without it, none of us would be here. Now, scientists are trying to better understand it so that they can use rot — preserving its role in feeding all living things.
- Archaeology
Pyramids’ blocks: Possibly rock ‘n’ rolled
No one knows how the ancient Egyptians moved the big stones needed to build their pyramids. A new study suggests they could have rolled them, by attaching wooden posts to the sides.
- Planets
This moon’s surface slides, just like Earth’s
Europa is one of Jupiter’s giant, icy moons. Scientists say it has plate tectonics, which means its surface is covered by moving, giant slabs.
- Health & Medicine
Ebola epidemic could top 1 million, CDC warns
The deadly Ebola epidemic ravaging West Africa has now infected more people than in all previous outbreaks put together. And still the numbers of the sick and dying continue to grow, not shrink.
- Brain
Eating disorders: The brain’s foul trickery
Experts on eating disorders are probing why sometimes deadly chemical changes can distort how much the brain says we need to eat.
- Health & Medicine
Recovery help from the blogosphere
And some who have been there now are sharing tips on what it takes to become a successful survivor.
- Brain
Your sleeping brain is listening
Most people think that sleep is when the brain turns off to rest. But a new study finds that even as people get their zzz’s, their brains remain alert. At least they stay alert enough to sort information as though they were awake.
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IgNobel prize honors scoop on the way dogs poop
A study shows that dogs spontaneously align themselves north to south when they poop or pee. A new app helps you collect your dog’s bodily habits for science.
- Animals
Sharks’ super sniffers at risk
Rising ocean acidity could rob sharks of their ability to sniff out dinner, marine biologists find.
- Fossils
Biggest dino ever?
This plant-eater would have towered over even a T. rex. A truly huge brute, Dreadnoughtus means ‘fear nothing.’
- Health & Medicine
You can be too thin
Eating disorders aren’t about vanity. They are mental illnesses that can prove deadly.
