All Stories
- Computing
The data flood
Mountains of data drive advances in science, medicine and other fields. Here’s how they might affect you.
- Computing
Explainer: Data — waiting to become information
People want information. To get it, experts must sift through facts to find trends and other types of useful knowledge that has value.
- Computing
Explainer: Understanding the size of data
Data are beginning to accumulate in quantities of mammoth size.
- Science & Society
Human ancestors threw spears
Who threw first? Scientists had long believed that ancient people who lived 80,000 years ago were the first to throw spears with stone tips. But the discovery of 279,000-year-old stone spear tips in Ethiopia pushes that date back, and suggests prehuman species hunted with spears too.
- Science & Society
Bigger groups make better tools
As the size of a population grows, so too does its ability to quickly create clever new tools. Lab experiments suggest that connections between people give rise to the new creations.
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This holiday season, give the gift of doing science
Whether it’s going on a nature walk, building something together, or using an app, you can help get a kid excited about science.
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Get started in computer science with an Hour of Code
This week is Computer Science Education Week. To honor it, some big names in tech have put together hour-long tutorials to get you started on coding.
- Life
Caught in the act
Scientists observe some evolutionary speed demons as they adapt over the course of just a few years to new environmental conditions.
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Interview: Biology teacher goes the extra mile
Eureka! Lab interviews Myron Blosser, the winner of the 2013 Virginia Outstanding Biology Teacher Award and a biology teacher at Eastern Mennonite School in Harrisonburg, Va.
- Fossils
Early tyrannosaurs would have feared this predator
A newfound dinosaur fossil appears to explain why ancestors of T. rex didn’t begin their growth in size — and dominance — any earlier than they did.
- Brain
Inheriting fear
Scared of something and don’t know why? Maybe your parents or grandparents passed along their fear to you, a new mouse study suggests.
- Animals
Mimicking mussels’ muscle
People who seek to get a grip on something — especially in wet environments — might want to take a lesson from some common shellfish. Among those who might benefit most: surgeons.
