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Sun's magnetic field

Check out the first-ever map of the solar corona’s magnetic field

Solar physicists watched waves in the sun’s corona to map the whole corona’s magnetic field. Future observers could use the same technique to predict solar eruptions.

By Lisa Grossman17 hours ago

The game Endangered

Science & Society

The board game Endangered shows just how hard conservation can be

By Sarah Zielinski19 hours ago

photos of three mummified animals

X-rays reveal what ancient animal mummies keep under wraps

By Helen ThompsonAugust 20, 2020

This ichthyosaur died after devouring a creature nearly as long as itself

By Maria TemmingAugust 20, 2020

Earth

50 years ago, scientists clocked the speed of Antarctic ice

By Maria TemmingAugust 20, 2020

Tech

Methanol fuel gives this tiny beetle bot the freedom to roam

By Carmen DrahlAugust 19, 2020

Coronavirus Outbreak

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

By Sujata GuptaAugust 14, 2020

Anthropology
Africa’s biggest collection of ancient human footprints has been found

By Bruce BowerMay 14, 2020
Health & Medicine
4 reasons you shouldn’t trash your neck gaiter based on the new mask study

By Jonathan LambertAugust 12, 2020
Paleontology
This ichthyosaur died after devouring a creature nearly as long as itself

By Maria TemmingAugust 20, 2020
Astronomy
In a first, astronomers spotted a space rock turning into a comet

By Lisa GrossmanAugust 18, 2020
Astronomy
Check out the first-ever map of the solar corona’s magnetic field

By Lisa Grossman17 hours ago
Space
The closest black hole to Earth may have been spotted 1,000 light-years away

By Lisa GrossmanMay 6, 2020
Astronomy
Hubble watched a lunar eclipse to see Earth from an alien’s perspective

By Maria TemmingAugust 17, 2020
Archaeology
X-rays reveal what ancient animal mummies keep under wraps

By Helen ThompsonAugust 20, 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

Element character illustration

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.

Paradise tree snake

Here’s how flying snakes stay aloft

Worker spraying disinfectant in a fitness center

COVID-19 case clusters offer lessons and warnings for reopening

diver in underwater Mexican cave

Underwater caves once hosted the Americas’ oldest known ochre mines

illustration of people in the United States

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

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More Stories

Life

How two new fungus species got named after the COVID-19 pandemic

By Susan MiliusAugust 17, 2020
Climate change, not hunters, may have killed off woolly rhinos

By Bruce BowerAugust 13, 2020
A single molecule may entice normally solitary locusts to form massive swarms

By Jonathan LambertAugust 12, 2020

Humans

Ancient sculptures hint at universal facial expressions across cultures

By Bruce BowerAugust 19, 2020
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

Climate

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

By Jack J. LeeAugust 14, 2020
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

Astronomy

In a first, astronomers spotted a space rock turning into a comet

By Lisa GrossmanAugust 18, 2020
Hubble watched a lunar eclipse to see Earth from an alien’s perspective

By Maria TemmingAugust 17, 2020
50 years ago, Mauna Kea opened for astronomy. Controversy continues

By Emily ConoverAugust 5, 2020

Physics

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

By Emily ConoverAugust 12, 2020
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

Health & Medicine

Dust can spread influenza among guinea pigs, raising coronavirus questions

By Erin Garcia de JesusAugust 18, 2020
4 reasons you shouldn’t trash your neck gaiter based on the new mask study

By Jonathan LambertAugust 12, 2020
How two coronavirus drugs for cats might help humans fight COVID-19

By Erin Garcia de JesusAugust 11, 2020

Earth

Death Valley hits 130° F, the hottest recorded temperature on Earth since 1931

By Carolyn GramlingAugust 17, 2020
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

Science & Society

Ethan Hawke stars in ‘Tesla,’ a quirky biopic about the iconic inventor

By Maria TemmingAugust 19, 2020
Interfaith soccer teams eased Muslim-Christian tensions — to a point

By Sujata GuptaAugust 13, 2020
A new Galileo biography draws parallels to today’s science denialism

By Tom SiegfriedAugust 11, 2020