All Stories by Alison Pearce Stevens
- Psychology
Everyone experiences malicious joy now and then
Called schadenfreude, feeling happy when we see someone else’s pain is typically harmless. But unchecked, it can have big consequences.
- Psychology
Big goals can feel overwhelming. Here’s how to stay on track
Aiming for something big? Break that big goal into smaller, manageable steps. Then narrow your focus. This will keep your eyes on the prize.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Kleptotrichy
Based on the Greek words for theft and hair, kleptotrichy is a more common bird behavior than people thought.
- Animals
Analyze This: Some bats feast on songbirds midflight
Sensor data reveal greater noctule bats chasing, catching and chewing on birds during nighttime hunts.
- Earth
Cities across the world are sinking. Here’s how they might rebound
Affected coastal cities tend to flood more often — a growing threat in this era of continuing sea level rise.
- Health & Medicine
Short exercise workouts can boost classroom performance
When students spend just nine minutes doing high-intensity interval exercises, their brains can work more efficiently, new data show.
- Health & Medicine
Sleeping in — but not too much — may ease anxiety
Getting up to two hours of weekend catch-up sleep lowers anxiety in teens, new research shows.
- Plants
Pollinators send out good vibrations — and plants respond sweetly
Snapdragon blooms can distinguish between the sounds of pollinators and thieves. They boost or drop the sugar in their nectar depending who’s arriving.
- Plants
Scientists Say: Circumnutation
Plants are always on the move, their tips slowly waving in search of better light — a process called circumnutation.
- Materials Science
Orange food dye can temporarily turn skin transparent
When mixed with water and rubbed on the skin, a common food dye allows researchers to peer inside the body of a mouse.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Lava bomb
An explosive volcanic eruption can shoot a blob of lava into the air. As that blob travels, it cools, creating a dangerous lava bomb.
- Animals
Meet some of the longest-lived animals
Think a 100-year-old person is old? Not compared to the world’s longest-lived animals — some of which have lifespans of thousands of years.
