Topics

Chemistry

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

Rudolph’s red nose could glow through bioluminescence

Simple chemistry could give the reindeer his iconic red snout. But physics would make it look different colors to anyone who spied Rudolph from the ground.

By Maria TemmingDecember 3, 2025

A jar of milk is photographed from above. Four small ants with black bodies are floating in the milk amid bubbles. The ants' abdomens are brownish red.

Microbes

Ants are the secret ingredient to this tasty yogurt

By Erin Garcia de JesúsNovember 24, 2025

Chemistry

Let’s learn about surprising uses for human waste

By Maria TemmingNovember 4, 2025

Earth

a polar bear stands on a sheet of ice with a bloody carcass of a dead animal in front of it, while seagulls stand nearby

Animals

Polar bears leave thousands of tons of food scraps for other species

The new finding quantifies how much of polar bears' food goes uneaten. As these bears decline, Arctic scavengers risk losing a critical food source.

By Gennaro TommaDecember 12, 2025

In this photo, a citizen scientist studies bleached corals off the coast of Thailand in June 2024. Marine heat waves devastated 80 percent of the world's warm water coral reefs in 2024. Projections for warming by 2030 suggest the world's corals are past their tipping point.

Climate

Global coral die-offs signal Earth’s first climate tipping point

By Carolyn GramlingDecember 11, 2025

a plate holds a meal of lab-grown chicken with vegetables

Tech

Let’s learn about lab-grown meat

By Carly KayDecember 9, 2025

Humans

How to invent a language — like that of Avatar’s Na’vi

Linguists can choose to follow, mix or break the rules of real-world languages to create interesting fictional ones.

By Maria TemmingDecember 4, 2025

An artist rendering of a translucent purple cell with bright orange chromosomes going through meiosis.

Genetics

Scientists created human egg cells from skin cells

By Tina Hesman SaeyDecember 1, 2025

Brain

Big moments can help you remember little things, too

By Sujata GuptaNovember 18, 2025

Life

Animals

Polar bears leave thousands of tons of food scraps for other species

The new finding quantifies how much of polar bears' food goes uneaten. As these bears decline, Arctic scavengers risk losing a critical food source.

By Gennaro TommaDecember 12, 2025

Tech

Let’s learn about lab-grown meat

By Carly KayDecember 9, 2025

Close up of a pair of preening Chilean flamingos in the water.

Animals

Flamingos hunt by creating their own underwater tornadoes

By Sofia Caetano Avritzer and JoAnna WendelDecember 8, 2025

Math

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

These powerful little superscripts may be simpler than you thought.

By Katie Grace CarpenterDecember 9, 2025

black and white image of a Paratuposa placentis beetle

Physics

Comb-like wings help the tiniest insects swim through ‘syrupy’ air

By Larissa G. CapellaOctober 8, 2025

a photo of a red rose against a black background

Plants

Physics explains how rose petals get their iconic shape

By Sarah WellsSeptember 15, 2025

Physics

Physics

Here’s how to levitate something without magic

Levitation may seem like fantasy. But all it takes is a little physics — and sound waves, magnetism or electricity.

By Maria TemmingDecember 10, 2025

Animals

Rudolph’s red nose could glow through bioluminescence

By Maria TemmingDecember 3, 2025

A water bottle dangles from a lacy, vase-shaped parachute.

Physics

These parachutes unfurl thanks to Japanese paper-cutting techniques

By Emily ConoverDecember 2, 2025

Science & Society

Humans

How to invent a language — like that of Avatar’s Na’vi

Linguists can choose to follow, mix or break the rules of real-world languages to create interesting fictional ones.

By Maria TemmingDecember 4, 2025

two teen girls stand side by side with their arms crossed in front of a science fair project poster

Animals

Space

Tech

Let’s learn about lab-grown meat

By Carly KayDecember 9, 2025

three glass-enclosed cubicles with young professionals in each. The middle cubicle has two people in a discussion

Physics

This microphone picks up sounds by watching them

By Payal DharNovember 19, 2025

Topics

Rudolph’s red nose could glow through bioluminescence

Ants are the secret ingredient to this tasty yogurt

Let’s learn about surprising uses for human waste

Polar bears leave thousands of tons of food scraps for other species

Global coral die-offs signal Earth’s first climate tipping point

Let’s learn about lab-grown meat

How to invent a language — like that of Avatar’s Na’vi

Scientists created human egg cells from skin cells

Big moments can help you remember little things, too

Polar bears leave thousands of tons of food scraps for other species

Let’s learn about lab-grown meat

Flamingos hunt by creating their own underwater tornadoes

Scientists Say: Exponent

Comb-like wings help the tiniest insects swim through ‘syrupy’ air

Physics explains how rose petals get their iconic shape

Here’s how to levitate something without magic

Rudolph’s red nose could glow through bioluminescence

These parachutes unfurl thanks to Japanese paper-cutting techniques

How to invent a language — like that of Avatar’s Na’vi

Liquid from African tulip trees may protect honeybees from pests

Ants are the secret ingredient to this tasty yogurt

Scientists Say: Van Allen belts

Fast, mysterious clouds swarm around our galaxy

Scientists Say: Supermoon

Here’s how to levitate something without magic

Let’s learn about lab-grown meat

This microphone picks up sounds by watching them

Support Science Journalism