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head of T. rex fossil

T. rex’s incredible biting force came from its stiff lower jaw

T. rex could generate incredibly strong bite forces thanks to a boomerang-shaped bone that stiffened the lower jaw, a new analysis suggests.

By Sid Perkins10 hours ago

illustration of a brain with parts stimulated highlighted in red and yellow

Mild zaps to the brain can boost a pain-relieving placebo effect

By Jackie Rocheleau7 hours ago

Mangrove trees in Mexico's Cristalino Cenote

Climate

Mangrove forests on the Yucatan Peninsula store record amounts of carbon

By Carolyn Gramling12 hours ago

Science & Society

How to detect, resist and counter the flood of fake news

By Alexandra WitzeMay 6, 2021

Microbes

These climate-friendly microbes recycle carbon without producing methane

By Carolyn GramlingMay 6, 2021

Saturn has a fuzzy core, spread over more than half the planet’s diameter

By Ken CroswellMay 6, 2021

Sponsored Content

Conversations with Maya: Roald Hoffmann

From Society for Science10 hours ago

Space
A rare glimpse of a star before it went supernova defies expectations

By Maria TemmingMay 5, 2021
Astronomy
Saturn has a fuzzy core, spread over more than half the planet’s diameter

By Ken CroswellMay 6, 2021
Science & Society
How to detect, resist and counter the flood of fake news

By Alexandra WitzeMay 6, 2021
Microbes
These climate-friendly microbes recycle carbon without producing methane

By Carolyn GramlingMay 6, 2021
Anthropology
Little Foot’s shoulders hint at how a human-chimp common ancestor climbed

By Bruce BowerApril 30, 2021
Health & Medicine
Here’s what breakthrough infections reveal about COVID-19 vaccines

By Erin Garcia de JesúsMay 4, 2021
Animals
A nose-horned dragon lizard lost to science for over 100 years has been found

By Dyna RochmyaningsihJune 9, 2020
Planetary Science
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter’s mission with Perseverance has been extended

By Lisa GrossmanApril 30, 2021

The Coronavirus Pandemic

scan of human brain

COVID-19 can affect the brain. New clues hint at how

Anxiety, depression and strokes can occur after infection, leaving experts to determine how the virus affects the brain.

By Laura SandersApril 27, 2021
Experts predict U.S. COVID-19 cases will dip in summer but surge in winter
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From the Archives

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Science News Bulletin

April 2, 1921 No. 1

Science News Magazine

May 8, 2021 cover

May 8, 2021 Vol. 199 No. 9

Featured Media

scores of small silver fish swimming

Tiny crystals give a plain fish twinkling, colorful dots under light

Fishes’ flashing photonic crystals may provide inspiration for ultra-miniaturized sensors that work in a living body.

Monica Quintana wears a mask and face shield and dons a gown in a hospital hallway

The surge in U.S. coronavirus cases shows a shift in who’s getting sick

microscopic image of several xenobots

Frog skin cells turned themselves into living machines

black and white image of Calder Hall power plant smokestacks

How matter’s hidden complexity unleashed the power of nuclear physics

close up of lasers pointed at a target

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

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More Stories

Life

Some viruses thwart bacterial defenses with a unique genetic alphabet

By Tina Hesman SaeyMay 5, 2021
Only 3 percent of Earth’s land hasn’t been marred by humans

By Jonathan LambertApril 15, 2021
Yawning helps lions synchronize their groups’ movements

By Jake BuehlerApril 6, 2021

Humans

Neandertal DNA from cave mud shows two waves of migration across Eurasia

By Charles ChoiApril 15, 2021
New depictions of ancient hominids aim to overcome artistic biases

By Tina Hesman SaeyApril 5, 2021
Ancient humans may have deliberately voyaged to Japan’s Ryukyu Islands

By Charles ChoiDecember 3, 2020

Climate

Climate change may have changed the direction of the North Pole’s drift

By Sid PerkinsApril 28, 2021
A trek under Thwaites Glacier’s ice shelf reveals specific risks of warm water

By Carolyn GramlingApril 9, 2021
Ship exhaust studies overestimate cooling from pollution-altered clouds

By Carolyn GramlingFebruary 1, 2021

Astronomy

Mysterious ‘yellowballs’ littering the Milky Way are clusters of newborn stars

By Lisa GrossmanApril 23, 2021
Neutron stars may not be as squishy as some scientists thought

By Emily ConoverApril 20, 2021
A record-breaking, oxygen-starved galaxy may be full of gigantic stars’ shrapnel

By Ken CroswellApril 9, 2021

Physics

A clock’s accuracy may be tied to the entropy it creates

By Emily ConoverApril 28, 2021
X-ray scans explain how the ‘Brazil nut effect’ works

By Maria TemmingApril 22, 2021
Newly made laser-cooled antimatter could test foundations of modern physics

By Maria TemmingApril 5, 2021

Health & Medicine

How a small city in Brazil may reveal how fast vaccines can curb COVID-19

By Meghie RodriguesMay 5, 2021
Here’s what breakthrough infections reveal about COVID-19 vaccines

By Erin Garcia de JesúsMay 4, 2021
Meet three moderators fighting disinformation on Reddit’s largest coronavirus forum

By Anushree DaveMay 4, 2021

Earth

Lightning may be an important source of air-cleaning chemicals

By Maria TemmingApril 29, 2021
A spike in Arctic lightning strikes may be linked to climate change

By Maria TemmingApril 6, 2021
Phosphorus for Earth’s earliest life may have been forged by lightning

By Maria TemmingMarch 16, 2021

Science & Society

A few simple tricks make fake news stories stick in the brain

By Laura SandersMay 4, 2021
2,500 years ago, the philosopher Anaxagoras brought science’s spirit to Athens

By Tom SiegfriedMay 4, 2021
The book ‘Viral BS’ offers a cure for medical myths and fake health news

By Cori VanchieriMay 3, 2021