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Collapsed Arecibo telescope

Space

Why losing Arecibo is a big deal for astronomy

The radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory has collapsed, robbing scientists of a special tool for studying everything from asteroids to galaxies.

By Maria TemmingDecember 4, 2020

Murchison meteorite fragment

Planetary Science

50 years ago, scientists caught their first glimpse of amino acids from outer space

By Maria TemmingDecember 4, 2020

stone with microscopic bone residue

Two stones fuel debate over when America’s first settlers arrived

By Bruce BowerDecember 4, 2020

Humans

Ancient humans may have deliberately voyaged to Japan’s Ryukyu Islands

By Charles ChoiDecember 3, 2020

Quantum Physics

The new light-based quantum computer Jiuzhang has achieved quantum supremacy

By Emily ConoverDecember 3, 2020

Health & Medicine

The ‘last mile’ for COVID-19 vaccines could be the biggest challenge yet

By Tina Hesman SaeyDecember 3, 2020

Sponsored Content

Conversations with Maya: Dianne K. Newman

From Society for Science & the PublicDecember 3, 2020

Quantum Physics
The new light-based quantum computer Jiuzhang has achieved quantum supremacy

By Emily ConoverDecember 3, 2020
Space
Why losing Arecibo is a big deal for astronomy

By Maria TemmingDecember 4, 2020
Archaeology
Two stones fuel debate over when America’s first settlers arrived

By Bruce BowerDecember 4, 2020
Health & Medicine
The ‘last mile’ for COVID-19 vaccines could be the biggest challenge yet

By Tina Hesman SaeyDecember 3, 2020
Space
Here are 10 of Arecibo’s coolest achievements

By Maria Temming4 hours ago
Astronomy
In a first, astronomers spotted a space rock turning into a comet

By Lisa GrossmanAugust 18, 2020
Space
December’s stunning Geminid meteor shower is born from a humble asteroid

By Ken CroswellDecember 2, 2020
Humans
Ancient humans may have deliberately voyaged to Japan’s Ryukyu Islands

By Charles ChoiDecember 3, 2020

The Coronavirus Pandemic

medical professional wearing a mask working in a tent

Coronavirus cases are skyrocketing. Here’s what it will take to gain control

Basic public health measures can still curb COVID-19, if everyone does their part.

By Jonathan LambertNovember 11, 2020
We still don’t know what COVID-19 immunity means or how long it lasts
Sign up for e-mail updates on the latest coronavirus news and research

From the Archives

Amino Acids in a Meteorite

December 5, 1970 Vol. 98 No. #23

Science News Magazine

cover of the December 5, 2020 issue

December 5, 2020 Vol. 198 No. 10

Featured Media

close up of lasers pointed at a target

Giant lasers help re-create supernovas’ explosive, mysterious physics

For the first time, scientists have re-created a type of shock wave that occurs in supernovas.

image of a sea butterfly on a black background

Sea butterflies’ shells determine how the snails swim

Ogre-faced spider

Ogre-faced spiders catch insects out of the air using sound instead of sight

photos of three mummified animals

X-rays reveal what ancient animal mummies keep under wraps

Pit viper

Cheap, innovative venom treatments could save tens of thousands of snakebite victims

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More Stories

Life

Dog ticks may get more of a taste for human blood as the climate changes

By Aayushi PratapNovember 30, 2020
Monarch caterpillars head-butt each other to fight for scarce food

By Curtis SegarraNovember 19, 2020
An ancient amphibian is the oldest known animal with a slingshot tongue

By Carolyn GramlingNovember 5, 2020

Humans

The longest trail of fossilized human footprints hints at a risky Ice Age trek

By Aayushi PratapOctober 26, 2020
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

Climate

Once hurricanes make landfall, they’re lingering longer and staying stronger

By Carolyn GramlingNovember 11, 2020
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

Astronomy

Betelgeuse went dark, but didn’t go supernova. What happened?

By Lisa GrossmanNovember 29, 2020
Arecibo Observatory, an ‘icon of Puerto Rican science,’ will be demolished

By Lisa GrossmanNovember 19, 2020
Turning space images into music makes astronomy more accessible

By Maria TemmingOctober 16, 2020

Physics

Newton’s groundbreaking Principia may have been more popular than previously thought

By Emily ConoverNovember 23, 2020
Supercooled water has been caught morphing between two forms

By Emily ConoverNovember 19, 2020
LIGO and Virgo’s gravitational wave tally more than quadrupled in six months

By Emily ConoverOctober 28, 2020

Health & Medicine

The U.K. is the first country to authorize a fully tested COVID-19 vaccine

By Tina Hesman SaeyDecember 2, 2020
Health care workers and long-term care residents should get COVID-19 vaccines first

By Aimee CunninghamDecember 1, 2020
Long-lasting shots work better than daily pills to prevent HIV in at-risk women

By Aimee CunninghamDecember 1, 2020

Earth

50 years ago, scientists named Earth’s magnetic field as a suspect in extinctions

By Jonathan LambertNovember 19, 2020
Technology and natural hazards clash to create ‘natech’ disasters

By Megan SeverNovember 13, 2020
STEVE may be even less like typical auroras than scientists thought

By Maria TemmingNovember 12, 2020

Science & Society

A COVID-19 time capsule captures pandemic moments for future researchers

By Sujata GuptaDecember 2, 2020
These are science’s Top 10 erroneous results

By Tom SiegfriedNovember 10, 2020
‘Great Adaptations’ unravels mysteries of amazing animal abilities

By Erin Garcia de JesusOctober 12, 2020