Science News | The latest news from all areas of science

What looks like different colored balls (smooth muscle cells seen in false color) sit atop a turquoise patch studded with tiny nanoneedles.

Health & Medicine

This painless nanoneedle patch might one day replace certain biopsies

Using millions of tiny needles, the patch samples molecular data from inside cells without damaging them, providing intel on composition in minutes.

By Payal Dhar6 hours ago

This side-by-side image shows an uninfected cell (left) with its innards spread throughout the cell, and one infected by the herpesvirus (right). The cell's insides are now compacted into a small area in the center of the cell.

Health & Medicine

See how the herpesvirus reshapes our cells’ DNA in just eight hours

By Amanda Heidt8 hours ago

a sweating man sits in a chair front of a house

Climate

Harmful heat doesn’t always come in waves

By Nikk OgasaJune 27, 2025

A photo of the lichen C. lacinulatum

Life

A barrage of radiation couldn’t kill this hardy life-form

By Katherine KorneiJune 27, 2025

Six-panel image showing red dots against a black background, each a distant galaxy observed in infrared.

Mysterious ‘little red dot’ galaxies have a possible origin story

By Ken CroswellJune 27, 2025

A pile of red (adzuki) beans

Genetics

Genetics reveal the origin story of East Asia’s favorite sweet bean

By Celina ZhaoJune 27, 2025

A photograph of the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt in Canada, which may contain the world's oldest rocks.

Earth

Earth’s oldest rocks may be at least 4.16 billion years old

By Carolyn GramlingJune 26, 2025

We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

Spotlight on Health

a sweating man sits in a chair front of a house

Harmful heat doesn’t always come in waves

Even without reaching heat wave levels, sustained high temperatures may contribute to a litany of health issues.

By Nikk OgasaJune 27, 2025
Many U.S. babies may lack gut bacteria that train their immune systems
Mailed self-sample kits boosted cervical cancer screening

Science News Magazine

July 2025 cover of Science News

July 1, 2025 Vol. 207 No. 7

From the Archives

Panda Pandemonium

June 28, 1975 Vol. 107 No. #26

Featured Media

A person prepares to hit a squash ball with a racket.

No player can return this killer shot. Physics explains how it works

Squash’s killer “nick shot” has a formula. It’s all about height and timing, a new study shows.

Two killer whales are shown rubbing a small piece of brown kelp between their bodies. One whale is to the upper left. The other is to the bottom right. The second whale's nose comes about halfway up the first's body, lining up with its dorsal fin.

Killer whales may use kelp brushes to slough off rough skin

A black circle perfectly blocks the sun in an artificial solar eclipse. The sun's corona and wispy rays radiate from it in lime green.

Two spacecraft created their first images of an artificial solar eclipse

A whale shark looks toward the camera in an underwater photograph. Black-and-white striped fish swim in front of the shark and a scuba diver is in the distance.

50 years after ‘Jaws,’ sharks face their own terror

A seal with speckled gray and black fur swims through an underwater kelp forest, facing the camera.

U.S. seal populations have rebounded — and so have their conflicts with humans

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More Stories

Life

The first cicada concert was 47 million years ago

By Larissa G. CapellaMay 27, 2025
Gila monsters may struggle to survive climate change

By Jake BuehlerApril 4, 2025
Dark coats may have helped the earliest mammals hide from hungry dinosaurs

By Jake BuehlerMarch 13, 2025

Humans

100 years after the Scopes trial, science is still under attack

By Darren IncorvaiaJune 16, 2025
FDA cuts imperil food safety, but not how you might think

By Meghan RosenJune 9, 2025
Ancient horse hunts challenge ideas of ‘modern’ human behavior

By Bruce BowerApril 18, 2025

Climate

This paint ‘sweats’ to keep your house cool

By Larissa G. CapellaJune 13, 2025
Penguin poop gives Antarctic cloud formation a boost

By Carolyn GramlingMay 22, 2025
Losing a key U.S. climate report would hurt future disaster prep

By Carolyn GramlingMay 2, 2025

Astronomy

Black hole–shredded megastars power a new class of cosmic explosions

By McKenzie PrillamanJune 16, 2025
A dwarf galaxy just might upend the Milky Way’s predicted demise

By Nikk OgasaJune 2, 2025
A gas cloud 5,500 times as massive as the sun lurks nearby

By Mara Johnson-GrohMay 2, 2025

Physics

Rainbows of sound are a reality thanks to a new device

By Emily ConoverJune 11, 2025
How to get the biggest splash at the pool using science

By Elie DolginJune 9, 2025
Scientists used a levitating magnet to hunt for dark matter

By Emily ConoverMay 21, 2025

Health & Medicine

Cancer DNA is detectable in blood years before diagnosis

By Meghan RosenJune 20, 2025
Want to eat healthier? Add to your diet, rather than limit it

By Meghan RosenJune 20, 2025
Summer is a great time to protect your hearing

By Laura SandersJune 18, 2025

Earth

Climate change is coming for your cheese

By Meghie RodriguesJune 10, 2025
Small earthquakes can have a big impact on the movements of major faults

By Nikk OgasaJune 4, 2025
Gamma rays flared as this lightning bolt formed

By Sid PerkinsMay 21, 2025

Science & Society

A Supreme Court ruling on nuclear waste spotlights U.S. storage woes

By Emily ConoverJune 18, 2025
How attacks on evolution in classrooms have shifted over the last 100 years

By Erin WaymanJune 17, 2025
Is nuclear energy good? A new book explores this complex question

By Alka Tripathy-LangJune 17, 2025