All Stories
- Space
Fairy tale inspiration could help rovers explore risky places
Taking a cue from Hansel and Gretel, scientists propose a way for rovers to send back data from treacherous terrain.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Explosion
Explosions happen when chemical or nuclear reactions blow out a lot of heat, noise and expanding gas.
- Materials Science
Analyze This: A new fabric mimics polar bears’ pelts for warmth
With layers that work like polar bears’ skin and fur, a material absorbs light and keeps it from escaping.
- Psychology
Done right, online learning might be as engaging as face-to-face
Measures of stress offer clues to how engaged students are during online lessons. This could help teachers design more effective classes.
- Planets
In a first, telescopes have caught a star eating a planet
A burst of light and a cloud of dust are signs that a distant star swallowed a giant planet.
- Plants
Could a plant ever eat a person?
For now, humans aren’t on the menu for carnivorous plants. But what would it take for one to consume a person?
- Environment
Fungi help rescue crops being harmed by microplastics
Microplastics in the soil hinder plant growth. But two finalists at Regeneron ISEF found that fungi and farm waste can reduce the harm.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Addiction
Recovering from addiction is hard but possible. Encouragement of loved ones can improve a person’s chances of overcoming this disease.
- Fossils
This ancient bird rocked a head like a T. rex
This bird from 120 million years ago had a head like a dinosaur and a body more like today’s birds.
- Space
James Webb telescope catches newborn stars sculpting spiral galaxies
Dark voids riddle the galaxies, revealing new details about how stars alter their environments.
- Fossils
Ancient jellyfish? Upside down this one looks like something else
A new look at an ancient sea animal called Essexella suggests it may have been a type of burrowing sea anemone, not a floating jelly.
- Physics
Explainer: Reflection, refraction and the power of lenses
The inner workings of microscopes, telescopes, eyeglasses and other lens-based devices rely on two important laws of optics.
