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snowy owls, sanderlings, cactus wrens and Western meadowlarks

Life

We’ve lost 3 billion birds since 1970 in North America

Scientists estimated the change in total number of individual birds since 1970. They found profound losses spread among rare and common birds alike.

By Jonathan LambertSeptember 19, 2019

champagne cork

Physics

CO₂ from champagne bottles can form shock waves like those seen in rocket exhaust

By Maria TemmingSeptember 20, 2019

Doctor Who

Physics

Can time travel survive a theory of everything?

By Tom SiegfriedSeptember 20, 2019

Planetary Science

India’s first attempt to land on the moon appears to have failed

By Lisa GrossmanSeptember 20, 2019

Plants

Why tumbleweeds may be more science fiction than Old West

By Susan MiliusSeptember 20, 2019

Humans

Ancient DNA reveals the first glimpse of what a Denisovan may have looked like

By Bruce BowerSeptember 19, 2019

How an astrophysicist chased a star from the Halo games to real life

By Lisa GrossmanSeptember 18, 2019

Physics
Can time travel survive a theory of everything?

By Tom SiegfriedSeptember 20, 2019
Humans
Ancient DNA reveals the first glimpse of what a Denisovan may have looked like

By Bruce BowerSeptember 19, 2019
Life
We’ve lost 3 billion birds since 1970 in North America

By Jonathan LambertSeptember 19, 2019
Physics
Gravitational waves from a ringing black hole support the no-hair theorem

By Emily ConoverSeptember 16, 2019
Plants
Why tumbleweeds may be more science fiction than Old West

By Susan MiliusSeptember 20, 2019
Astronomy
How an astrophysicist chased a star from the Halo games to real life

By Lisa GrossmanSeptember 18, 2019
Planetary Science
India’s first attempt to land on the moon appears to have failed

By Lisa GrossmanSeptember 20, 2019
Physics
CO₂ from champagne bottles can form shock waves like those seen in rocket exhaust

By Maria TemmingSeptember 20, 2019

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International Year of the Periodic Table

GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research

Extreme elements push the boundaries of the periodic table

The hunt for the next elements on the periodic table might turn up superheavy atoms that flaunt the rules of chemistry.

By Emily ConoverFebruary 27, 2019
How the periodic table went from a sketch to an enduring masterpiece
150 years on, the periodic table has more stories than it has elements

From the Archives

Pinning down the weed

September 27, 1969 Vol. 96 No. #13

Science News Magazine

cover of September 14, 2019 issue

September 14, 2019 Vol. 196 No. 5

Featured Media

snowy owls, sanderlings, cactus wrens and Western meadowlarks

We’ve lost 3 billion birds since 1970 in North America

Scientists estimated the change in total number of individual birds since 1970. They found profound losses spread among rare and common birds alike.

How these tiny insect larvae leap without legs

Lisa with moon rocks

How NASA has kept Apollo moon rocks safe from contamination for 50 years

supermassive black hole at M87

The first picture of a black hole opens a new era of astrophysics

hominid skull reconstruction

A 3.8-million-year-old skull reveals the face of Lucy’s possible ancestors

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More Stories

Life

Climate change may be throwing coral sex out of sync

By Susan MiliusSeptember 13, 2019
Birds fed a common pesticide lost weight rapidly and had migration delays

By Maanvi SinghSeptember 12, 2019

Humans

1 in 4 U.S. high school seniors has vaped recently — up 4.5 percentage points from 2018

By Aimee CunninghamSeptember 18, 2019
Babies born by C-section have more potentially infectious bacteria in their guts

By Laura SandersSeptember 18, 2019

Earth

Expanding ice slabs are increasing Greenland’s contribution to sea level rise

By Carolyn GramlingSeptember 18, 2019
Ancient crystal growths in caves reveal seas rose 16 meters in a warmer world

By Lucas LaursenSeptember 9, 2019

Space

The Milky Way’s supermassive black hole reached record brightness this year

By Emily ConoverSeptember 17, 2019
Astronomers have spotted a second interstellar object

By Lisa GrossmanSeptember 12, 2019

Physics

Gravitational waves from a ringing black hole support the no-hair theorem

By Emily ConoverSeptember 16, 2019
Physicists may be a step closer to solving the mystery of proton size

By Emily ConoverSeptember 10, 2019

Tech

This device harnesses the cold night sky to generate electricity in the dark

By Maria TemmingSeptember 12, 2019
A new prosthetic leg that senses touch reduces phantom pain

By Laura SandersSeptember 9, 2019

Science & Society

How circling the globe has evolved in the 500 years since Magellan’s famous trip

By Cassie MartinSeptember 17, 2019
‘The Nature of Life and Death’ spotlights pollen’s role in solving crimes

By Sid PerkinsSeptember 11, 2019

Chemistry

The longest Dead Sea Scroll sports a salt finish that the others lack

By Maria TemmingSeptember 6, 2019
A mini chemical lab could one day test for toxic nerve agents in the field

By Maria TemmingSeptember 5, 2019