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illustration of nine dinosaurs of differing ages

Some dinosaurs may have lived in herds as early as 193 million years ago

A fossilized family gathering of long-necked Mussaurus may be the earliest evidence yet of herd behavior in dinosaurs.

By Carolyn Gramling3 hours ago

a herd of horses running across grassland in Mongolia

Animals

Scientists found modern domestic horses’ homeland in southwestern Russia

By Jonathan LambertOctober 20, 2021

A reconstructed Viking Age hut with an overgrown roof in Newfoundland

Vikings lived in North America by at least the year 1021

By Bruce BowerOctober 20, 2021

Physics

Here’s the physics of why ducklings swim in a row behind their mother

By Emily ConoverOctober 20, 2021

Animals

An agile gecko found in India named after the legendary Jackie Chan

By Anne Pinto-RodriguesOctober 19, 2021

Vaccine update

Here’s what we know about booster shots for Moderna’s and J&J’s COVID-19 vaccines

By Erin Garcia de JesúsOctober 19, 2021

Health & Medicine

COVID-19 testing in schools works. So why aren’t more doing it?

By Betsy LadyzhetsOctober 18, 2021

Archaeology
Vikings lived in North America by at least the year 1021

By Bruce BowerOctober 20, 2021
Physics
Here’s the physics of why ducklings swim in a row behind their mother

By Emily ConoverOctober 20, 2021
Physics
An atomic clock measured how general relativity warps time across a millimeter

By Emily ConoverOctober 18, 2021
Animals
Scientists found modern domestic horses’ homeland in southwestern Russia

By Jonathan LambertOctober 20, 2021
Health & Medicine
Here’s what we know about booster shots for Moderna’s and J&J’s COVID-19 vaccines

By Erin Garcia de JesúsOctober 19, 2021
Animals
An agile gecko found in India named after the legendary Jackie Chan

By Anne Pinto-RodriguesOctober 19, 2021
Earth
Earth is reflecting less light. It’s not clear if that’s a trend

By Sid PerkinsOctober 14, 2021
Life
Sea otters stay warm thanks to leaky mitochondria in their muscles

By Jaime ChambersJuly 8, 2021

Century of Science from ScienceNews

Explore major advances across the sciences that have transformed our understanding of the world and our universe, and our lives.

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The Coronavirus Pandemic

Elementary school student receiving a COVID-19 test from a person wearing a mask and gloves

COVID-19 testing in schools works. So why aren’t more doing it?

School COVID-19 testing programs can keep kids in class and safe, but face challenges ranging from deciding on a testing strategy to parental buy-in.

By Betsy LadyzhetsOctober 18, 2021
A new antiviral pill cuts COVID-19 hospitalization and death rates
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From the Archives

first page of the first issue of Science News Bulletin

Science News Bulletin

April 2, 1921 No. 1

Science News Magazine

cover of the October 9, 2021 issue

October 9, 2021 Vol. 200 No. 7

Featured Media

telescope image of a star cluster, which is surrounded by a blue haze

How do scientists calculate the age of a star?

There are a few different methods to determine the age of a star, but none are perfect.

a fox squirrel in a tree

Squirrels use parkour tricks when leaping from branch to branch

an elephant takes a drink from a lake

Newly recognized tricks help elephants suck up huge amounts of water

illustration of a black hole merging with a neutron star

Gravitational waves reveal the first known mergers of a black hole and neutron star

scores of small silver fish swimming

Tiny crystals give a plain fish twinkling, colorful dots under light

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More Stories

Life

A beautiful oak leaf portrait won the 2021 Nikon Small World photography contest

By Erin Garcia de JesúsSeptember 13, 2021
Infants may laugh like some apes in their first months of life

By Carolyn WilkeSeptember 9, 2021
Fires may have affected up to 85 percent of threatened Amazon species

By Jake BuehlerSeptember 1, 2021

Humans

Fossils and ancient DNA paint a vibrant picture of human origins

By Erin WaymanSeptember 15, 2021
Only a tiny fraction of our DNA is uniquely human

By Tina Hesman SaeyJuly 16, 2021
‘The Joy of Sweat’ will help you make peace with perspiration

By Bethany BrookshireJuly 13, 2021

Climate

2020 babies may suffer up to seven times as many extreme heat waves as 1960s kids

By Carolyn GramlingOctober 1, 2021
‘Ice Rivers’ invites you to get to know our world’s melting glaciers

By Carolyn GramlingSeptember 24, 2021
Rice feeds half the world. Climate change’s droughts and floods put it at risk

By Nikk OgasaSeptember 24, 2021

Astronomy

A Jupiter-like planet orbiting a white dwarf hints at our solar system’s future

By Ken CroswellOctober 13, 2021
The fastest-spinning white dwarf ever seen rotates once every 25 seconds

By Ken CroswellOctober 12, 2021
China’s lunar rock samples show lava flowed on the moon 2 billion years ago

By Freda KreierOctober 7, 2021

Physics

An atomic clock measured how general relativity warps time across a millimeter

By Emily ConoverOctober 18, 2021
Work on complex systems, including Earth’s climate, wins the physics Nobel Prize

By Emily ConoverOctober 5, 2021
Whirling maple seeds inspired these tiny flying sensors

By Emily ConoverSeptember 22, 2021

Health & Medicine

A custom brain implant lifted a woman’s severe depression

By Laura SandersOctober 4, 2021
Discovering how we sense temperature and touch wins the 2021 medicine Nobel Prize

By Tina Hesman SaeyOctober 4, 2021
50 years ago, scientists found a link between aspirin use and pregnancy complications

By Lillian Steenblik HwangSeptember 27, 2021

Earth

Earth is reflecting less light. It’s not clear if that’s a trend

By Sid PerkinsOctober 14, 2021
A volcano-induced rainy period made Earth’s climate dinosaur-friendly

By Megan SeverSeptember 30, 2021
How AI can help forecast how much Arctic sea ice will shrink

By Gloria DickieSeptember 14, 2021

Science & Society

Methods of getting results from real-world experiments win 2021 economics Nobel

By Bruce BowerOctober 11, 2021
How our SN 10 scientists have responded to tumultuous times

By Science News StaffOctober 7, 2021
The spoken word album ‘Experimental Words’ weaves rhyme with reason

By Aina AbellSeptember 29, 2021