Matter and Its Interactions

  1. Life

    Planets with hydrogen skies could harbor life

    Microbes can live in a hydrogen atmosphere. This points to new space worlds that host alien life.

    By Lisa Grossman
  2. Chemistry

    Ancient recipes helped scientists resurrect a long-lost blue hue

    Led by medieval texts, scientists hunted down a plant and used its fruit to make a blue watercolor with mysterious origins.

    By Carolyn Wilke
  3. Animals

    Traces from nuclear-weapons tests offer clues to whale sharks’ ages

    Traces left by nuclear-bomb testing in the 1950s and ‘60s can help researchers learn how old a whale shark is.

    By Maria Temming
  4. Climate

    Did rain put the Kilauea volcano’s lava-making into overdrive?

    Scientists share strongly conflicting opinions about why Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano spewed an overabundance of lava in 2018.

    By Megan Sever
  5. Physics

    Science offers recipes for homemade coronavirus masks

    New studies provide data on what types of mask materials protect best against the virus that causes COVID-19. They also point to the value of a really snug fit.

    By Kathiann Kowalski
  6. Chemistry

    COVID-19 victims could breathe easier with these innovations

    Feared equipment shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted research teams to develop novel technologies to help oxygen-starved lungs.

    By Kathiann Kowalski
  7. Chemistry

    Rock Candy Science 2: No such thing as too much sugar

    Making rock candy at home takes a lot more sugar than you might think. Why? This experiment will show you why.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  8. Environment

    Here’s one way to harvest water right out of the air

    Need water but you have no access to rain, lakes or groundwater? Materials known as metal-organic frameworks could be used to slurp that water from the air, new data show.

    By Sid Perkins
  9. Chemistry

    Batteries should not burst into flames

    Because lithium-ion batteries power modern life, they need to store a lot of energy. Now scientists are focusing on making them safer.

    By Carolyn Wilke
  10. Health & Medicine

    Silk can be molded into strong medical implants

    Freeze-dried and powdered silk has a long shelf life. It also is cheap to ship and can be molded into sturdy medical implants.

    By Sid Perkins
  11. Animals

    Try This: Walking on water with science

    Water striders walk on water. How do they do it? They spread out. This experiment will show you how it works.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  12. Chemistry

    Converting trash to valuable graphene in a flash

    Flash heating of carbon-rich wastes creates graphene, which has many commercial uses.

    By Alison Pearce Stevens