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Black and white dairy cattle graze near a wire fence in a green grass field. H5N1 bird flu viruses have evolved to better infect such cattle.

Health & Medicine

New mutations help the H5N1 bird flu virus infect cows but not people

The findings show how the H5N1 bird flu virus is evolving in livestock and what that may mean for human health.

By Tina Hesman Saey4 hours ago

Numerous jars of preserved animals sit on a shelf.

Life

Smithsonian secrets most likely to blow your mind

By Meghan Rosen and Stephen Voss6 hours ago

A person opening an AI chatbot on their phone.

Artificial Intelligence

Is AI bad for critical thinking? It depends on when you use it

By Aaron Brooks12 hours ago

A little boy leans over a kitchen sink to drink water directly from the faucet.

Health & Medicine

Fluoride in U.S. drinking water does not reduce IQ, a new study finds

By Elie DolginApril 13, 2026

An ullustration shows a woman holding a tablet and appearing to talk with a variety of animals (a bear, dog, turtle and cat). The animals each have speech bubbles with what looks like a scribbled language in them.

Life

Talking dogs and chatty cats could one day ‘speak’ in our language

By Laura SandersApril 13, 2026

A gray whale surfaces letting us see its eye and mouth.

Animals

For gray whales, San Francisco Bay is becoming a deadly pit stop

By Gennaro TommaApril 13, 2026

Three parachutes deploy above a spacecraft as it splashes into the ocean.

Space

Artemis II ends its historic lunar journey

By Lisa GrossmanApril 10, 2026

We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

NASA’s Artemis II Mission

A selfie closeup of the Artemis II Orion capsule on a dark space background

Artemis II: NASA’s Orion heads home after a historic loop around the moon

The record-setting astronauts had a front-row view of the farside of the moon, an eclipse and perhaps a re-creation of the famous Earthrise.

By Lisa GrossmanApril 6, 2026
The first-ever ‘Earthset’ image marks another Artemis II milestone
Artemis II sends humans around the moon for first time since Apollo

Science News Magazine

April 2026 issue of Science News

April 1, 2026 Vol. 208 No. 4

From Science News Investors Lab

Featured Media

A crescent of Earth hangs over the horizon of the moon, as the planet sets. The brown moon foreground is pocked with craters.

The first-ever ‘Earthset’ image marks another Artemis II milestone

As NASA’s Orion spacecraft slipped behind the farside of the moon, the astronauts captured the crescent of Earth setting over the moon’s horizon.

A selfie closeup of the Artemis II Orion capsule on a dark space background

Artemis II: NASA’s Orion heads home after a historic loop around the moon

An illustration of Ediacaran animals based on their fossils.

Fossils reveal many complex animals existed before the Cambrian explosion

Artemis II sends humans around the moon for first time since Apollo

A web of blue lines etch the outline of a heart against a black background in an illustration meant to evoke the idea of a digital version of the organ.

Digital heart twins can guide a lifesaving procedure

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Life

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Climate

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Astronomy

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Physics

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Health & Medicine

When our minds wander to the body, it may affect mental health

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Start cholesterol tests in childhood, new guidelines say

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Earth

Earth’s continental plates were moving 3.48 billion years ago

By Douglas FoxMarch 19, 2026
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Science & Society

Snippets of hair may expose chronic stress in war refugees

By Sujata GuptaApril 6, 2026
Pronatalists want more babies. Their solutions aren’t rooted in science

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