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Protests in Washington, D.C.

Science & Society

What the 1960s civil rights protests can teach us about fighting racism today

Princeton political scientist Omar Wasow talks about how his research into violent versus nonviolent protests applies to the current moment.

By Sujata GuptaJune 5, 2020

coyote walking up stairs in a park

Animals

5 reasons you might be seeing more wildlife during the COVID-19 pandemic

By Bethany BrookshireJune 5, 2020

hydroxychloroquine

Health & Medicine

Taking hydroxychloroquine may not prevent COVID-19 after exposure

By Tina Hesman SaeyJune 4, 2020

Climate

Rapid sea level rise could drown protective mangrove forests by 2100

By Carolyn GramlingJune 4, 2020

Science & Society

A #BlackBirdersWeek cofounder aims to amplify black nature enthusiasts

By Jonathan LambertJune 4, 2020

Space

A Milky Way flash implicates magnetars as a source of fast radio bursts

By Maria TemmingJune 4, 2020

Coronavirus Outbreak

What parents need to know about kids in the summer of COVID-19

By Aimee CunninghamJune 3, 2020

Life
More ‘murder hornets’ are turning up. Here’s what you need to know

By Susan MiliusMay 29, 2020
Physics
Scientists cooled a nanoparticle to the quantum limit

By Emily ConoverJanuary 30, 2020
Space
The wobbling orbit of a pulsar proves Einstein right, yet again

By Christopher CrockettJanuary 30, 2020
Health & Medicine
Is the coronavirus mutating? Yes. But here’s why you don’t need to panic

By Erin Garcia de JesusMay 26, 2020
Archaeology
Lidar reveals the oldest and biggest Maya structure yet found

By Bruce BowerJune 3, 2020
Animals
5 reasons you might be seeing more wildlife during the COVID-19 pandemic

By Bethany BrookshireJune 5, 2020
Science & Society
What the 1960s civil rights protests can teach us about fighting racism today

By Sujata GuptaJune 5, 2020
Health & Medicine
New data suggest people aren’t getting reinfected with the coronavirus

By Erin Garcia de JesusMay 19, 2020

The Coronavirus Outbreak

How coronavirus stress may scramble our brains

The pandemic has made clear thinking a real struggle. But researchers say knowing how stress affects the brain can help people cope.

By Laura SandersMay 24, 2020
Is the coronavirus mutating? Yes. But here’s why you don’t need to panic
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From the Archives

Launches and Liftoffs in ’95

January 14, 1995 Vol. 147 No. #2

Science News Magazine

Cover of June 6, 2020 issue

June 6, 2020 Vol. 197 No. 10

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.

Asian small-clawed otter

Why otters ‘juggle’ rocks is still a mystery

illustration of people in the United States

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

mini Mars rover

Wiggling wheels could keep future rovers trucking in loose lunar soil

wok with fried rice

How to make the best fried rice, according to physics

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More Stories

Life

These tube-shaped creatures may be the earliest known parasites

By Jonathan LambertJune 2, 2020
More ‘murder hornets’ are turning up. Here’s what you need to know

By Susan MiliusMay 29, 2020
Neon colors may help some corals stage a comeback from bleaching

By Carolyn WilkeMay 29, 2020

Humans

Births in the United States have dropped to a 34-year low

By Aimee CunninghamMay 20, 2020
Malaria parasites may have their own circadian rhythms

By Jake BuehlerMay 14, 2020
A gene variant partly explains why Peruvians are among the world’s shortest people

By Tina Hesman SaeyMay 13, 2020

Climate

‘Tree Story’ explores what tree rings can tell us about the past

By Carolyn GramlingJune 1, 2020
How more powerful Pacific cyclones may be fueling global warming

By Carolyn GramlingMay 28, 2020
Daily global CO₂ emissions dropped dramatically as COVID-19 kept people home

By Carolyn GramlingMay 19, 2020

Astronomy

The oldest disk galaxy yet found formed more than 12 billion years ago

By Lisa GrossmanMay 20, 2020
The sun is less magnetically active than similar stars, and we don’t know why

By Lisa GrossmanApril 30, 2020
A century ago, astronomy’s Great Debate foreshadowed today’s view of the universe

By Tom SiegfriedApril 24, 2020

Physics

A new device can produce electricity using shadows

By Carolyn WilkeJune 3, 2020
A star shredded by a black hole may have spit out an extremely energetic neutrino

By Emily ConoverMay 26, 2020
Physicists have found a way to foil a classic oobleck science trick

By Emily ConoverMay 8, 2020

Health & Medicine

Wastewater could provide up to a week of warning for a COVID-19 spike

By Erin Garcia de JesusMay 28, 2020
Infecting people with COVID-19 could speed vaccine trials. Is it worth it?

By Jonathan LambertMay 27, 2020
Politics aside, hydroxychloroquine could (maybe) help fight COVID-19

By Tina Hesman SaeyMay 22, 2020

Earth

Chicxulub collision put Earth’s crust in hot water for over a million years

By Carolyn GramlingJune 1, 2020
Up to 220 million people globally may be at risk of arsenic-contaminated water

By Carolyn GramlingMay 21, 2020
Long-dormant volcano Mauna Kea has been quietly grumbling for decades

By Carolyn GramlingMay 14, 2020

Science & Society

Scientists sometimes conceal a lack of knowledge with vague words

By Tom SiegfriedMay 22, 2020
Past plagues offer lessons for society after the coronavirus pandemic

By Bruce BowerMay 18, 2020
How materials science has changed humankind — for better and worse

By Emily ConoverApril 10, 2020