Science News | The latest news from all areas of science

Science News Needs You

an aerial photo of rice fields

Climate

Rice feeds half the world. Climate change’s droughts and floods put it at risk

Rice provides sustenance for billions who have no alternative, and climate change threatens to slash production. Growers will need to innovate to provide an important crop as climate whiplash brings drought and floods to fields worldwide.

By Nikk OgasaSeptember 24, 2021

Pastoruri Glacier in the Peruvian Andes

Climate

‘Ice Rivers’ invites you to get to know our world’s melting glaciers

By Carolyn GramlingSeptember 24, 2021

rock with fossilized human footprints

‘Ghost tracks’ suggest people came to the Americas earlier than once thought

By Freda KreierSeptember 23, 2021

Animals

Bloodthirsty vampire bats like to drink with friends over strangers

By Jonathan LambertSeptember 23, 2021

Genetics

DNA offers a new look at how Polynesia was settled

By Bruce BowerSeptember 22, 2021

Physics

Whirling maple seeds inspired these tiny flying sensors

By Emily ConoverSeptember 22, 2021

Health & Medicine

Why only some people will get COVID-19 booster shots at first

By Erin Garcia de JesúsSeptember 21, 2021

Astronomy
This is the first picture of a sunlike star with multiple exoplanets

By Lisa GrossmanJuly 22, 2020
Neuroscience
Playing brain training games regularly doesn’t boost brainpower

By Jackie RocheleauMay 25, 2021
Anthropology
‘Ghost tracks’ suggest people came to the Americas earlier than once thought

By Freda KreierSeptember 23, 2021
Quantum Physics
One of nature’s key constants is much larger in a quantum material

By Emily ConoverSeptember 21, 2021
Genetics
DNA offers a new look at how Polynesia was settled

By Bruce BowerSeptember 22, 2021
Climate
Rice feeds half the world. Climate change’s droughts and floods put it at risk

By Nikk OgasaSeptember 24, 2021
Archaeology
Infrared images reveal hidden tattoos on Egyptian mummies

By Bruce BowerDecember 2, 2019
Science & Society
The Top 10 scientific surprises of Science News’ first 100 years

By Tom SiegfriedSeptember 20, 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.

Explore Century of Science

Themes

Connections

Milestones

Spotlights

Sign Up For the Latest from Science News

Thank you for signing up!

There was a problem signing you up.

The Coronavirus Pandemic

doctors tend to a COVID-19 patient in a hospital bed

These charts show that COVID-19 vaccines are doing their job

COVID-19 shots may not always prevent infections, but for now, they are keeping the vast majority of vaccinated people out of the hospital.

By Erin Garcia de JesúsAugust 31, 2021
How coronavirus vaccines still help people who already had COVID-19
Sign up for e-mail updates on the latest coronavirus news and research

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 September 25, 2021 issue

September 25, 2021 Vol. 200 No. 6

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

Follow Science News

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

Australian fires in 2019–2020 had even more global reach than previously thought

By Carolyn GramlingSeptember 15, 2021
Climate change made Europe’s flash floods in July more likely

By Carolyn GramlingAugust 23, 2021
The new UN climate change report shows there’s no time for denial or delay

By Carolyn GramlingAugust 9, 2021

Astronomy

Satellite swarms may outshine the night sky’s natural constellations

By Lisa GrossmanSeptember 20, 2021
A supernova’s delayed reappearance could pin down how fast the universe expands

By Ken CroswellSeptember 13, 2021
How radio astronomy put new eyes on the cosmos

By Christopher CrockettAugust 31, 2021

Physics

New ‘vortex beams’ of atoms and molecules are the first of their kind

By Emily ConoverSeptember 2, 2021
Physicists caught protons ‘surfing’ on shock waves

By Emily ConoverAugust 26, 2021
50 years ago, physicists thought they found the W boson. They hadn’t

By Erin Garcia de JesúsAugust 20, 2021

Health & Medicine

Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and works well for kids ages 5–11

By Tina Hesman SaeySeptember 20, 2021
By taking on poliovirus, Marguerite Vogt transformed the study of all viruses

By Megan ScudellariSeptember 17, 2021
How personalized brain organoids could help us demystify disorders

By Laura SandersSeptember 3, 2021

Earth

How AI can help forecast how much Arctic sea ice will shrink

By Gloria DickieSeptember 14, 2021
Clouds affected by wildfire smoke may produce less rain

By Rachel CrowellSeptember 9, 2021
This pictogram is one of the oldest known accounts of earthquakes in the Americas

By Carolyn GramlingSeptember 7, 2021

Science & Society

The Top 10 scientific surprises of Science News’ first 100 years

By Tom SiegfriedSeptember 20, 2021
‘On the Fringe’ explores the thin line between science and pseudoscience

By Tom SiegfriedAugust 30, 2021
Gender-affirming care improves mental health for transgender youth

By Maria TemmingAugust 26, 2021