Science News | The latest news from all areas of science

A biologists picks out plastic from a common coot nest.

Animals

Plastic ‘fossils’ help scientists reconstruct the history of bird nests

Plastic waste has let common coots reuse nests year after year. Scientists have now used the trash layers to date how old nests are.

By Darren IncorvaiaMarch 21, 2025

A pile of multi-colored legos, some stacked, some jumbled haphazardly. The image illustrates a book review of Memory Lane by Ciara Greene and Gillian Murphy.

Human memory is flawed. But a new book says that’s OK

By Laura SandersMarch 21, 2025

A scanning electron microscope image of a pancreatic cancer cell that shows intricate details of the cell’s membrane, with a textured appearance, spiky protrusions and a connecting bridge between cells.

Health & Medicine

An mRNA cancer vaccine may offer long-term protection

By Meghan RosenMarch 21, 2025

A group of small fish swirl around a curled hammerhead shark swimming in clear water

Animals

Hammerhead sharks’ diets may affect if they roam or stay home

By Melissa HobsonMarch 21, 2025

A baby wearing pink headphones gets ready to go into a functional MRI machine for a memory test. Two helper adults are nearby.

Babies can form memories, and they do it a lot like adults

By Laura SandersMarch 20, 2025

A gray seal pops its head up above the water.

Animals

Gray seals may sense their own blood oxygen levels

By McKenzie PrillamanMarch 20, 2025

An orange haze from wildfire smoke hangs over a Los Angeles neighborhood. A new study says such fires boost ground-level ozone pollution levels.

Earth

Wildfires and farm fertilizer use are fueling ozone pollution

By Rachel BerkowitzMarch 20, 2025

Spotlight on Health

A health care worker administers a measles vaccine to a child while a family member holds his other hand.

Measles is spreading. Here’s what experts say you should know

The uptick in measles cases has left many people wondering about early signs of measles, whether they need an updated vaccine and treatment options.

By McKenzie Prillaman and Tina Hesman SaeyMarch 14, 2025
6 things to know about antidepressants
Medical AI tools are growing, but are they being tested properly?

Science News Magazine

Cover of the March 2025 issue of Science News

March 1, 2025 Vol. 207 No. 3

From the Archives

Women in Science: Reshaping the Stereotypes

March 15, 1975 Vol. 107 No. #11

Featured Media

Jon Nelson and son

Hear what it’s like to recover from depression with deep brain stimulation

In the sixth episode of The Deep End, listen to what’s next for Jon Nelson and for deep brain stimulation research for depression.

A health care worker administers a measles vaccine to a child while a family member holds his other hand.

Measles is spreading. Here’s what experts say you should know

Aerial shot of six narwhals.

Narwhals may use their iconic tusks to play

young woman holding medicine bottle

6 things to know about antidepressants

A photo of Jon Nelson hockey

Brain implants don’t change a person’s sense of self. Hear why

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More Stories

Life

Dark coats may have helped the earliest mammals hide from hungry dinosaurs

By Jake BuehlerMarch 13, 2025
A new book chronicles the science of life in the air

By Andrea TamayoFebruary 25, 2025
A skull found in Egypt shows this top predator stalked ancient Africa

By Richard KemenyFebruary 25, 2025

Humans

Biological sex is not as simple as male or female

By Tina Hesman SaeyFebruary 20, 2025
How child soldiers heal after the trauma of war

By Elizabeth QuillJanuary 10, 2025
Dietary evidence bolsters Clovis hunters’ reputation as mammoth killers

By Anna GibbsDecember 4, 2024

Climate

Some trees are coping with extreme heat surprisingly well

By Siddhant PusdekarMarch 10, 2025
Warming is chasing cloud forests steadily uphill

By Douglas FoxMarch 6, 2025
Even desert cities could pull drinking water from the air

By Carolyn GramlingFebruary 20, 2025

Astronomy

Citizen scientists make cosmic discoveries with a global telescope network

By Hannah RichterMarch 4, 2025
The universe’s first supernovas probably produced water

By Mara Johnson-GrohMarch 3, 2025
Some of Earth’s meteors are probably coming all the way from a neighboring star system

By Ken CroswellFebruary 28, 2025

Physics

The sound of clapping, explained by physics

By Emily ConoverMarch 4, 2025
Squishy materials reveal new physics of static electricity

By Emily ConoverFebruary 19, 2025
A weird ice that may form on alien planets has finally been observed

By Nikk OgasaFebruary 18, 2025

Health & Medicine

Therapy dogs can ease young patients’ anxiety in the emergency room

By Aimee CunninghamMarch 14, 2025
Treating male partners along with women may help stop bacterial vaginosis

By Aimee CunninghamMarch 5, 2025
These scientists have a plan to demystify the vaginal microbiome

By McKenzie PrillamanMarch 4, 2025

Earth

Even epic rainfall may not be enough to refill SoCal’s aquifers

By Sid PerkinsFebruary 13, 2025
Spooky floating lights in South Carolina could be earthquake farts

By Nikk OgasaFebruary 11, 2025
Ancient rocks reveal when rivers began pouring nutrients into the sea

By Lucas Van Wyk JoelJanuary 31, 2025

Science & Society

5 years after COVID-19 became a pandemic, are we ready for what’s next?

By McKenzie PrillamanMarch 10, 2025
It’s ‘personal.’ What the Stand Up for Science rally meant for attendees

By Meghan Rosen and Alex ViverosMarch 7, 2025
Married men are doing more cleaning and laundry than in the past

By Sujata GuptaFebruary 27, 2025