Topics

Chemistry

an illustration of brightly colored particles in various patterns

Materials Science

‘Stenciling’ tiny gold particles gives them new properties

Decorating nanoparticles with other chemicals could give them useful properties for medicines, textiles and more.

By Skyler WareJanuary 21, 2026

Chemistry

Scientists finally know why ice is so slippery

By Elizabeth FernandezJanuary 12, 2026

illustration of Rudolph covered with snow and with his nose lit up

Animals

Rudolph’s red nose could glow through bioluminescence

By Maria TemmingDecember 3, 2025

Earth

A massive dust storm — called a haboob — rolls across the Arizona desert

Earth

Scientists Say: Haboob

Thunderstorms in the desert create downdrafts that lift desert sand into a moving, wall-like cloud.

By Katie Grace CarpenterJanuary 26, 2026

a giant mushroom cloud billows out from Bikini atoll, as seen from a nearby beach

Environment

Nuclear weapons tests many decades ago have left a radioactive legacy

By Jennifer WeeksJanuary 22, 2026

A fox stands behind a clump of long grass and wideflowers, on an asphalt path

Animals

Radioactive animals don’t glow — but do show the power of radiation

By Jennifer WeeksJanuary 22, 2026

Humans

a pale teen boy has fallen off his skateboard and seems injured, behind him a teen girl points and laughs at him

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.

By Alison Pearce StevensJanuary 29, 2026

Microbes

Let’s learn about viruses

By Maria TemmingJanuary 27, 2026

a woman and a dog help pull a person out from beneath a pile of snow during an avalanche safety training exercise

Health & Medicine

Recruits agreed to be buried face down in the snow, for science

By Aimee CunninghamJanuary 19, 2026

Life

Water fills the crime scene-like outline of Chicago's Rat Hole, a rodent-shaped crater in concrete with visible foot, toe and tail impressions.

Animals

Chicago’s Rat Hole? Science concludes it’s likely not from a rat

Researchers employed tools of paleontology to analyze the iconic landmark — a sidewalk critter crater made when a mystery rodent fell into wet concrete.

By Amanda HeidtFebruary 2, 2026

a person holds up a phone with a chatbot icon on the screen, and the chatbot saying 'hello! ask me anything'

Brain

Scientists Say: Hallucination

By Katie Grace CarpenterFebruary 2, 2026

A small black fly feeds on the center of a greenish-yellow flower.

Plants

Yum! Flies swarm to a flower that smells like wounded ants

By Rohini SubrahmanyamJanuary 30, 2026

Math

Math

Scientists Say: Logarithm

Think of this math function as just another way to solve equations involving exponents.

By Katie Grace CarpenterJanuary 12, 2026

a white and yellow spiraling fractal pattern on a dark blue background

Math

Fractals describe patterns hidden all around us

By Stephen OrnesDecember 18, 2025

in a row of petri dishes, the number of red beads doubles in each dish from 1 to 2 to 4 to 8 to 16 to 32

Math

Scientists Say: Exponent

By Katie Grace CarpenterDecember 9, 2025

Physics

Fantastic Four’s Invisible Woman stands against a warped, kaleidoscopic background. She is a white woman with blue eyes and platinum blonde hair. She is wearing a blue bodysuit with white cuffs and collar.

Animals

Is it possible to be invisible?

Fiction is full of characters with the power to vanish. But some animals have real-life ways to become nearly invisible.

By Sofia Caetano AvritzerJanuary 27, 2026

Physics

Energy may seem to disappear, but there’s a law against that

By Tejasri GururajJanuary 23, 2026

Animals

Radioactive animals don’t glow — but do show the power of radiation

By Jennifer WeeksJanuary 22, 2026

Science & Society

Cosmologist and dark matter researcher Katie Mack stands in front of a chalkboard covered in formulae. She is a white woman with short wavy brown hair and brown eyes.

Space

This cosmologist studies the invisible parts of the universe

Katie Mack started out building solar-powered LEGO cars as a kid. Now she studies dark matter to better understand how galaxies form and evolve.

By Aaron TremperJanuary 16, 2026

Science & Society

Life

Brain

Scientists Say: Hallucination

By Katie Grace CarpenterFebruary 2, 2026

Artificial Intelligence

Chatbots may make learning feel easy — but it’s shallow

By Payal DharJanuary 28, 2026

Topics

‘Stenciling’ tiny gold particles gives them new properties

Scientists finally know why ice is so slippery

Rudolph’s red nose could glow through bioluminescence

Scientists Say: Haboob

Nuclear weapons tests many decades ago have left a radioactive legacy

Radioactive animals don’t glow — but do show the power of radiation

Everyone experiences malicious joy now and then

Let’s learn about viruses

Recruits agreed to be buried face down in the snow, for science

Chicago’s Rat Hole? Science concludes it’s likely not from a rat

Scientists Say: Hallucination

Yum! Flies swarm to a flower that smells like wounded ants

Scientists Say: Logarithm

Fractals describe patterns hidden all around us

Scientists Say: Exponent

Is it possible to be invisible?

Energy may seem to disappear, but there’s a law against that

Radioactive animals don’t glow — but do show the power of radiation

This cosmologist studies the invisible parts of the universe

Linking science to dance, culture and more expands who can take part

Chopping an onion? Sharp knives can keep its juice out of your eyes

This cosmologist studies the invisible parts of the universe

Let’s learn about life forms that have survived in space

This is the largest, most detailed radio image yet of our Milky Way

A mosquito’s mouth can ‘print’ lines thinner than a human hair

Scientists Say: Hallucination

Chatbots may make learning feel easy — but it’s shallow

It’s a wonderful world — and universe — out there.

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