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Neandertal skull

Health & Medicine

Neandertal genes in people today may raise risk of severe COVID-19

People in South Asia and Europe are more likely to carry a genetic heirloom from Neandertals linked to susceptibility to the coronavirus.

By Tina Hesman Saey29 mins ago

small-banded kukri snake tearing open toad stomach

Animals

This snake rips a hole in living toads’ stomachs to feast on their organs

By Erin Garcia de Jesus2 hours ago

thermometer detecting sound waves

Tech

A new thermometer measures temperature with sound

By Maria Temming7 hours ago

Life

A new map shows where Asian giant hornets could thrive in the U.S.

By Curtis Segarra21 hours ago

Space

The first black hole image helped test general relativity in a new way

By Lisa GrossmanOctober 1, 2020

Life

Before migrating, some blue whales switch up the timing of their songs

By Jake BuehlerOctober 1, 2020

Science & Society

This year’s SN 10 scientists aim to solve some of science’s biggest challenges

By Science News StaffSeptember 30, 2020

Life
A new map shows where Asian giant hornets could thrive in the U.S.

By Curtis Segarra21 hours ago
Space
The first black hole image helped test general relativity in a new way

By Lisa GrossmanOctober 1, 2020
Environment
Invasive jumping worms damage U.S. soil and threaten forests

By Megan SeverSeptember 29, 2020
Tech
A new thermometer measures temperature with sound

By Maria Temming7 hours ago
Animals
This snake rips a hole in living toads’ stomachs to feast on their organs

By Erin Garcia de Jesus2 hours ago
Astronomy
The Milky Way’s most massive star cluster may have eaten a smaller cluster

By Ken CroswellSeptember 29, 2020
Space
A ‘lake’ on Mars may be surrounded by more pools of water

By Christopher CrockettSeptember 28, 2020
Life
Before migrating, some blue whales switch up the timing of their songs

By Jake BuehlerOctober 1, 2020

The Coronavirus Outbreak

SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 (left) and influenza (H1N1 shown in green)

What will happen when COVID-19 and the flu collide this fall?

As the Northern Hemisphere braces for a coronavirus-flu double hit, it’s unclear if it’ll be a deadly combo or one virus will squeeze out the other.

By Tina Hesman SaeySeptember 18, 2020
Treatments that target the coronavirus in the nose might help prevent COVID-19
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From the Archives

Monitoring the Sun’s Violence

September 19, 1970 Vol. 98 No. #12

Science News Magazine

cover of the September 26, 2020 issue

September 26, 2020 Vol. 198 No. 6

Featured Media

robotic beetle on a leaf

Methanol fuel gives this tiny beetle bot the freedom to roam

A new robot insect uses energy-dense methanol as fuel, not batteries. It could be a blueprint for future search-and-rescue bots with long run times.

photos of three mummified animals

X-rays reveal what ancient animal mummies keep under wraps

Element character illustration

Here’s how the periodic table gets new elements

diver in underwater Mexican cave

Underwater caves once hosted the Americas’ oldest known ochre mines

Teacher reads to children

Five big questions about when and how to open schools amid COVID-19

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More Stories

Life

Life on Earth may have begun in hostile hot springs

By Jack J. LeeSeptember 24, 2020
This parasitic plant eavesdrops on its host to know when to flower

By Jonathan LambertSeptember 4, 2020
How two new fungus species got named after the COVID-19 pandemic

By Susan MiliusAugust 17, 2020

Humans

Drones find signs of a Native American ‘Great Settlement’ beneath a Kansas pasture

By Bruce BowerSeptember 10, 2020
Puberty can repair the brain’s stress responses after hardship early in life

By Esther LandhuisAugust 28, 2020
Ancient sculptures hint at universal facial expressions across cultures

By Bruce BowerAugust 19, 2020

Climate

By 2100, Greenland will be losing ice at its fastest rate in 12,000 years

By Carolyn GramlingSeptember 30, 2020
Global warming may lead to practically irreversible Antarctic melting

By Carolyn GramlingSeptember 23, 2020
New maps show how warm water may reach Thwaites Glacier’s icy underbelly

By Carolyn GramlingSeptember 9, 2020

Astronomy

The Milky Way’s most massive star cluster may have eaten a smaller cluster

By Ken CroswellSeptember 29, 2020
Check out the first-ever map of the solar corona’s magnetic field

By Lisa GrossmanAugust 21, 2020
In a first, astronomers spotted a space rock turning into a comet

By Lisa GrossmanAugust 18, 2020

Physics

A stop-motion experiment reveals supercooled water’s dual nature

By Emily ConoverSeptember 28, 2020
Toy boats float upside down underneath a layer of levitated liquid

By Maria TemmingSeptember 2, 2020
Record-breaking gravitational waves reveal that midsize black holes do exist

By Emily ConoverSeptember 2, 2020

Health & Medicine

50 years ago, an experimental drug hinted at serotonin’s many roles in the brain

By Lisa GrossmanSeptember 29, 2020
Defects in early immune responses underlie some severe COVID-19 cases

By Erin Garcia de JesusSeptember 25, 2020
A Brazilian city devastated by COVID-19 may have reached herd immunity

By Jonathan LambertSeptember 24, 2020

Earth

Earth’s rarest diamonds form from primordial carbon in the mantle

By Carolyn GramlingSeptember 14, 2020
What’s behind August 2020’s extreme weather? Climate change and bad luck

By Carolyn GramlingAugust 27, 2020
Improved three-week weather forecasts could save lives from disaster

By Alexandra WitzeAugust 27, 2020

Science & Society

‘Schrödinger’s Web’ offers a sneak peek at the quantum internet

By Dan GaristoSeptember 28, 2020
‘The Origins of You’ explores how kids develop into their adult selves

By Bruce BowerSeptember 16, 2020
How COVID-19 worsened gender inequality in the U.S. workforce

By Sujata GuptaSeptember 9, 2020