Humans
- Health & Medicine
Nearsighted? Teens’ benefits from special contacts can be lasting
Multifocal contact lenses stop the progression of myopia — and the benefits can last even after use of these special lenses ends.
- Chemistry
Teen finds cheaper way to make drugs against killer viruses
This drug-making achievement also nabbed the top award — and $100,000 in prize money — at the 2025 Regeneron ISEF competition.
- Space
Is the International Space Station too clean?
Testing surfaces on board the space station revealed low microbial diversity, something that’s been linked to health problems elsewhere.
- Health & Medicine
ADHD symptoms may boost teens’ risk of vaping or smoking
Having multiple ADHD symptoms increases a teen’s risk of using vapes or other tobacco. That’s bad because nicotine is especially addictive for kids.
- Humans
Wiggling ears may have once helped boost human hearing
Ancient ear muscles may not help us hear today. They can, however, offer one readout of how hard someone is trying to listen.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: What is cancer?
Cancer is a whole collection of diseases with one thing in common: all develop when the body’s cells start dividing out of control.
- Materials Science
A beautiful blue butterfly wing offers a new way to study cancer
Once a morpho butterfly wing is placed atop a thin slice of tissue, shining polarized light through it can help reveal how likely breast cancer is to spread.
- Materials Science
This engineer uses light to get hearts pumping
Pengju Li designed a new type of pacemaker to help doctors during open-heart surgery.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Vitamin
Our bodies can’t make enough of these tiny but mighty worker molecules. That’s what makes them a dietary essential.
- Health & Medicine
Scratching an itch has both good effects and bad
Mice that scratch itchy ears trigger more redness and swelling — but also may combat harmful bacteria.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: What is asthma and how is it treated?
This chronic narrowing of lung airways can make it hard to breathe. Fortunately, drugs can widen those airways — even in people with severe asthma symptoms.
- Health & Medicine
Dad’s backyard lessons inspired this hearing scientist to learn
A. Catalina Vélez-Ortega researches how proteins can protect against hearing loss.
