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A teenager in a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants with a sad expression sits on a bed looking at a smartphone screen

Health & Medicine

More young people are looking to AI chatbots for mental health help

A new survey estimates 8 million young people use AI chatbots for help when stressed, angry or sad, an increase from 2024.

By Aimee Cunningham2 hours ago

A mask representing anesthesia for the brain

A tiny part of your brain may still listen under anesthesia

By Nora Bradford4 hours ago

A microscopy image of yellow, textured pancreatic cancer cells.

Health & Medicine

A new pancreatic cancer pill may be a game changer for patients

By Meghan RosenMay 31, 2026

Math

Here’s how to make an origami torus with the fewest folds possible

By Emily ConoverMay 29, 2026

A brownish-gray moon crisscrossed with lines with the left half in shadow.

Planetary Science

Europa may not vent water into space after all

By Lisa GrossmanMay 29, 2026

A gray pigeon with irridescent green neck feathers takes off from the hands of a person.

Animals

Homing pigeons may use a surprising navigation mechanism

By Elizabeth PennisiMay 28, 2026

A mosquito with a belly full of blood takes a meal from a white person

Life

Can DEET attract mosquitoes? A lab study offers clues

By Erin Garcia de JesúsMay 28, 2026

We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

Spotlight on Hantavirus

An illustration of a hantavirus with black and pink flower-like structures edged in orange poking out from a rough pink and black virus, with mottled pink background suggesting the inside of a blood vessel.

Why is hantavirus so deadly? It’s not what you may think

Andes hantavirus causes deadly lung failure, but its method of attack differs from other respiratory illnesses. The details might inform future treatments.

By Tina Hesman SaeyMay 26, 2026
Hantavirus questions grow in the wake of a cruise ship outbreak
What to know about a rare hantavirus outbreak at sea

Science News Magazine

June 2026 issue of Science News

June 1, 2026 Vol. 208 No. 6

From Science News Investors Lab

Featured Media

Here’s how to make an origami torus with the fewest folds possible

A mathematician found the most efficient way to fold paper into a doughnutlike shape.

A gray pigeon with irridescent green neck feathers takes off from the hands of a person.

Homing pigeons may use a surprising navigation mechanism

A mosquito with a belly full of blood takes a meal from a white person

Can DEET attract mosquitoes? A lab study offers clues

Huge volcanic eruption offers clues to fighting climate change

A person looks at an AI chatbot

AI bots ignore evidence. Can we trust them with science?

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More Stories

Life

Cows’ methane burps may be fueled by a newfound organelle in gut microbes

By Tina Hesman SaeyApril 30, 2026
Smithsonian secrets most likely to blow your mind

By Meghan Rosen and Stephen VossApril 14, 2026
Talking dogs and chatty cats could one day ‘speak’ in our language

By Laura SandersApril 13, 2026

Humans

Have a taste of our favorite food stories from 2025

By Carly KayDecember 24, 2025
‘Black Religion in the Madhouse’ examines psychiatry and race post-Civil War

By Aimee CunninghamDecember 12, 2025
Ancient southern Africans took genetic evolution in a new direction

By Bruce BowerDecember 3, 2025

Climate

Grapefruit-sized hail may become more common in a warmer world

By Yujia HuangMay 27, 2026
Antarctic plants may face a growing fungal threat from warming soils

By Carolyn GramlingMay 19, 2026
Emperor penguins are marching toward extinction. Antarctica fur seals too

By Carolyn GramlingApril 9, 2026

Astronomy

Astronomers may have found a record-breaking pair of black holes

By Mara Johnson-GrohMay 11, 2026
The earliest evidence of the first stars may lie in a distant gas clump

By Mara Johnson-GrohApril 24, 2026
Clouds of water ice thread stellar nurseries in the Milky Way

By Nikk OgasaApril 23, 2026

Physics

Physics explains why gold stays pristine

By Emily ConoverMay 22, 2026
Water drops on soap bubble films act like merging galaxies

By Emily ConoverMay 14, 2026
To get string theory, you need only four physics assumptions

By Emily ConoverMay 13, 2026

Health & Medicine

A $4 tongue swab test detects tuberculosis within 30 minutes

By Sahas MehraMay 28, 2026
Congo prepared for Ebola. Now a rare strain is exposing gaps in readiness

By Ray MwareyaMay 22, 2026
Ultrasound aimed at the brain offers new hope for Parkinson’s patients

By Laura SandersMay 22, 2026

Earth

Never-ending storms make for good plot twists. Could they plague Earth?

By Aaron TremperMay 18, 2026
The crust under Africa is thinning in a way that hasn’t been seen before

By Katherine KorneiMay 13, 2026
Seismic data captured the sound of awe during a solar eclipse

By Maria TemmingApril 29, 2026

Science & Society

The science of us

By Nancy ShuteMay 23, 2026
How house design can curb childhood illnesses in Africa

By Tawanda KaromboMay 22, 2026
Our understanding of Charles Darwin continues to evolve

By Aaron TremperMay 15, 2026