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Woman at graduation

Why do we miss the rituals put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic?

Even solitary rituals bind us to our groups and help calm anxieties. What happens when those traditions are upended?

By Sujata GuptaAugust 14, 2020

people staying cool during heat wave

Climate

Hurricanes have names. Some climate experts say heat waves should, too

By Jack J. Lee21 hours ago

illustration of a woolly rhino

Life

Climate change, not hunters, may have killed off woolly rhinos

By Bruce BowerAugust 13, 2020

Newly discovered cells in mice can sense four of the five tastes

By Carolyn WilkeAugust 13, 2020

Science & Society

Interfaith soccer teams eased Muslim-Christian tensions — to a point

By Sujata GuptaAugust 13, 2020

Physics

Four types of flames join forces to make this eerie ‘blue whirl’

By Emily ConoverAugust 12, 2020

Coronavirus Outbreak

4 reasons you shouldn’t trash your neck gaiter based on the new mask study

By Jonathan LambertAugust 12, 2020

Health & Medicine
4 reasons you shouldn’t trash your neck gaiter based on the new mask study

By Jonathan LambertAugust 12, 2020
Archaeology
The oldest known grass beds from 200,000 years ago included insect repellents

By Bruce BowerAugust 13, 2020
Psychology
Why do we miss the rituals put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic?

By Sujata GuptaAugust 14, 2020
Health & Medicine
Here’s what we know about Russia’s unverified coronavirus vaccine

By Tina Hesman SaeyAugust 11, 2020
Physics
A new experiment hints at how hot water can freeze faster than cold

By Emily ConoverAugust 7, 2020
Physics
Four types of flames join forces to make this eerie ‘blue whirl’

By Emily ConoverAugust 12, 2020
Health & Medicine
How two coronavirus drugs for cats might help humans fight COVID-19

By Erin Garcia de JesusAugust 11, 2020
Life
Climate change, not hunters, may have killed off woolly rhinos

By Bruce BowerAugust 13, 2020

The Coronavirus Outbreak

Russia coronavirus vaccine

Here’s what we know about Russia’s unverified coronavirus vaccine

Despite incomplete testing, Sputnik-V may be the first COVID-19 vaccine given to the general public, rolling out initially to teachers and doctors.

By Tina Hesman SaeyAugust 11, 2020
Five big questions about when and how to open schools amid COVID-19
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From the Archives

Voyager: Hard Start on a Long Road

August 27, 1977 Vol. 112 No. #9

Science News Magazine

cover of August 15, 2020 issue

August 15, 2020 Vol. 198 No. 3

Featured Media

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Here’s how the periodic table gets new elements

Today’s scientists keep adding to the periodic table. But an element has to earn its spot.

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COVID-19 case clusters offer lessons and warnings for reopening

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Underwater caves once hosted the Americas’ oldest known ochre mines

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How the U.S. census has measured race over 230 years

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More Stories

Life

A single molecule may entice normally solitary locusts to form massive swarms

By Jonathan LambertAugust 12, 2020
Wild bees add about $1.5 billion to yields for just six U.S. crops

By Susan MiliusAugust 4, 2020
Water beetles can live on after being eaten and excreted by a frog

By Jonathan LambertAugust 3, 2020

Humans

Competitive hot dog eaters may be nearing humans’ max eating speed

By Jonathan LambertJuly 14, 2020
Lidar reveals the oldest and biggest Maya structure yet found

By Bruce BowerJune 3, 2020
The Dead Sea Scrolls contain genetic clues to their origins

By Bruce BowerJune 2, 2020

Climate

Emissions dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic. The climate impact won’t last

By Jonathan LambertAugust 7, 2020
Climate change made Siberia’s heat wave at least 600 times more likely

By Carolyn GramlingJuly 15, 2020
4 ways to put the 100-degree Arctic heat record in context

By Carolyn GramlingJuly 1, 2020

Astronomy

50 years ago, Mauna Kea opened for astronomy. Controversy continues

By Emily ConoverAugust 5, 2020
The star cluster closest to Earth is in its death throes

By Ken CroswellJuly 24, 2020
This is the first picture of a sunlike star with multiple exoplanets

By Lisa GrossmanJuly 22, 2020

Physics

A new experiment hints at how hot water can freeze faster than cold

By Emily ConoverAugust 7, 2020
How understanding nature made the atomic bomb inevitable

By Tom SiegfriedAugust 6, 2020
The physics of solar flares could help scientists predict imminent outbursts

By Emily ConoverJuly 30, 2020

Health & Medicine

How two coronavirus drugs for cats might help humans fight COVID-19

By Erin Garcia de JesusAugust 11, 2020
Rogue immune system reactions hint at an early treatment for COVID-19

By Tina Hesman SaeyAugust 6, 2020
Heavy drinking drove hundreds of thousands of Americans to early graves

By Aimee CunninghamAugust 3, 2020

Earth

Predictions for the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season just got worse

By Maria TemmingAugust 7, 2020
COVID-19 lockdowns dramatically reduced seismic noise from humans

By Carolyn GramlingJuly 23, 2020
An asteroid impact, not volcanism, may have made Earth unlivable for dinosaurs

By Megan SeverJuly 17, 2020

Science & Society

A new Galileo biography draws parallels to today’s science denialism

By Tom SiegfriedAugust 11, 2020
College biology textbooks still portray a world of white scientists

By Bethany BrookshireJuly 17, 2020
There’s little evidence showing which police reforms work

By Sujata GuptaJuly 9, 2020