All Stories
- Physics
How much fruit can you pull from a display before it topples?
About 10 percent of the fruit in a tilted market display can be removed before it will crash down, computer models show.
- Animals
Paw-print DNA lets scientists track out-of-sight polar bears
This environmental DNA can aid in conserving species that are hard or dangerous to observe.
- Life
Scientists Say: Protist
Unified by a few key traits, these diverse organisms come in all shapes and sizes.
- Health & Medicine
The teen brain is especially vulnerable to the harms of cannabis
Today’s concentrated cannabis products — with higher THC levels — may pose greater risks of addiction and psychosis than ever before.
- Animals
A newfound type of hedgehog is small, dark and adorable
At first, this hedgehog was mistaken for a lookalike relative. But its teeth, skull shape and DNA confirmed it as a new species.
- Science & Society
Music has the power to move us physically and emotionally. Here’s why
The way music impacts the brain can improve mood and overall health.
- Animals
Here’s how kingfishers avoid concussions during high-speed dives
Understanding the genetic adaptations that protect the birds’ brains as they dive might one day offer clues to protecting human brains.
- Materials Science
Let’s learn about graphene
Scientists have been trying to understand and harness this material’s superpowers since its discovery in 2004.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Polarized light
Sunlight, lamplight and other lights are usually unpolarized. But passing light waves through filters can ‘polarize’ them.
- Math
This civil engineer turns to math to make energy more affordable
Destenie Nock uses computer algorithms to help identify households struggling to afford utilities.
- Planets
Huge polygons on Mars hint its equator may once have been frozen
A Chinese rover used radar to reveal long-buried terrain. The discovery hints that Mars’ equator was once much colder and wetter.
- Physics
Neutrons are unveiling hidden secrets of fossils and artifacts
Images made with these particles have revealed details of dinosaur bones, mummies and more.
