All Stories
- Physics
Scientists Say: Polarized light
Sunlight, lamplight and other lights are usually unpolarized. But passing light waves through filters can ‘polarize’ them.
- 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.
- Animals
Horned lizards and snakes tend to ambush their prey
The reptiles’ horns could help or hinder during foraging, depending on how they hunt. This might be why horns evolved in some species and not others.
- Animals
Pikmin’s plant-animal mashups don’t exist — but sun-powered animals do
Corals team up with photosynthetic zooxanthellae. Some sea slugs steal chloroplasts. How might animals and plants team up in Nintendo’s Pikmin games?
- Life
Scientists Say: Ichnology
This field of science looks to understand life — past and present — by studying how organisms altered their surroundings.
- Climate
Chemists make device to destroy planet-warming methane pollution
It can slash diffuse sources of this extremely potent greenhouse gas, such as from livestock barns and other sites.
- Archaeology
Iron Age grave in England points to a possible woman warrior
The grave holds a sword. It hints the buried woman fought or helped plan raids some 2,000 years ago in what’s now southwest England.
- Tech
Synthetic biology aims to tackle disease and give cells superpowers
DNA machines and protein-mimicking nanotech could replace broken machinery in cells or even lead to made-from-scratch synthetic life.
- Climate
Warmer seas trigger skyrocketing ice loss in 3 Antarctic glaciers
Destabilized by waves and vanishing sea ice, one of the glaciers lost 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) of ice in 16 months — a possible hint of worse to come.
- Tech
Let’s learn about the benefits of playing video games
Too much screentime poses health risks, but research suggests playing video games can sharpen some skillsets.
- Animals
Bonobos cooperate across social groups — even with no clear payoff
Bonobos cooperate with outsiders, even when they get no clear benefit out of it. This could shed light on social evolution in other primates, even us.
