Science News | The latest news from all areas of science

Science News Needs You

four images of Betelgeuse before and during its Great Dimming

Dust and a cold spell on Betelgeuse could explain why the giant star dimmed

Scientists had two options to explain Betelgeuse’s weird behavior in late 2019. They chose both.

By Lisa Grossman6 hours ago

image of people on a beach in Florida in spring 2020

Science & Society

Moral judgments about an activity’s COVID-19 risk can lead people astray

By Sujata Gupta11 hours ago

several makeup items - lipstick, a compact, blush brush, mascara - sit on a cream-colored background

Many cosmetics contain hidden, potentially dangerous ‘forever chemicals’

By Maria TemmingJune 15, 2021

Plants

A widely studied lab plant has revealed a previously unknown organ

By Jaime ChambersJune 15, 2021

As ‘phantom rivers’ roar, birds and bats change their hunting habits

By Nikk OgasaJune 15, 2021

An ancient creature thought to be a teeny dinosaur turns out to be a lizard

By Carolyn GramlingJune 14, 2021

Space

Most planets on tilted orbits pass over the poles of their suns

By Ken CroswellJune 14, 2021

Physics
Gravitational waves confirm a black hole law predicted by Stephen Hawking

By Emily ConoverJune 14, 2021
Neuroscience
A deep look at a speck of human brain reveals never-before-seen quirks

By Laura SandersJune 9, 2021
Health & Medicine
Human sperm don’t swim the way that anyone had thought

By Jack J. LeeJuly 31, 2020
Anthropology
Ardi and her discoverers shake up hominid evolution in ‘Fossil Men’

By Bruce BowerNovember 18, 2020
Chemistry
Many cosmetics contain hidden, potentially dangerous ‘forever chemicals’

By Maria TemmingJune 15, 2021
Plants
A widely studied lab plant has revealed a previously unknown organ

By Jaime ChambersJune 15, 2021
Astronomy
An arc of galaxies 3 billion light-years long may challenge cosmology

By Lisa GrossmanJune 10, 2021
Paleontology
An ancient creature thought to be a teeny dinosaur turns out to be a lizard

By Carolyn GramlingJune 14, 2021

The Coronavirus Pandemic

woman and child at grocery store not wearing masks with man wearing mask

The CDC’s changes to mask guidelines raised questions. Here are 6 answers

Experts weigh in on the U.S. CDC’s recommendation fully vaccinated individuals removing masks indoors and what it means for the pandemic’s future.

By Sujata GuptaMay 24, 2021
As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, we answer 7 lingering vaccine questions
Sign up for e-mail updates on the latest coronavirus news and research

From the Archives

first page of the first issue of Science News Bulletin

Science News Bulletin

April 2, 1921 No. 1

Science News Magazine

cover of the June 5, 2021 issue

June 5, 2021 Vol. 199 No. 10

Featured Media

an elephant takes a drink from a lake

Newly recognized tricks help elephants suck up huge amounts of water

New ultrasound imaging reveals what goes on inside a pachyderm’s trunk while feeding. It can snort water at the rate of 24 shower heads.

scores of small silver fish swimming

Tiny crystals give a plain fish twinkling, colorful dots under light

Monica Quintana wears a mask and face shield and dons a gown in a hospital hallway

The surge in U.S. coronavirus cases shows a shift in who’s getting sick

microscopic image of several xenobots

Frog skin cells turned themselves into living machines

black and white image of Calder Hall power plant smokestacks

How matter’s hidden complexity unleashed the power of nuclear physics

Follow Science News

More Stories

Life

Cells cram DNA into the nucleus in two distinct ways

By Erin Garcia de JesúsJune 10, 2021
Even hard-to-kill tardigrades can’t always survive being shot out of a gun

By Maria TemmingJune 2, 2021
European fire ant chemicals may send spiders scurrying away

By Erin Garcia de JesúsMay 18, 2021

Humans

Neandertal DNA from cave mud shows two waves of migration across Eurasia

By Charles Q. ChoiApril 15, 2021
New depictions of ancient hominids aim to overcome artistic biases

By Tina Hesman SaeyApril 5, 2021
Ancient humans may have deliberately voyaged to Japan’s Ryukyu Islands

By Charles Q. ChoiDecember 3, 2020

Climate

The last 30 years were the hottest on record for the United States

By Carolyn GramlingMay 26, 2021
‘Tree farts’ contribute about a fifth of greenhouse gases from ghost forests

By Maria TemmingMay 20, 2021
‘Zombie’ forest fires may become more common with climate change

By Jonathan LambertMay 19, 2021

Astronomy

An arc of galaxies 3 billion light-years long may challenge cosmology

By Lisa GrossmanJune 10, 2021
Some fast radio bursts come from the spiral arms of other galaxies

By Lisa GrossmanJune 1, 2021
Record-breaking light has more than a quadrillion electron volts of energy

By Emily ConoverMay 21, 2021

Physics

Gravitational waves confirm a black hole law predicted by Stephen Hawking

By Emily ConoverJune 14, 2021
Auroras form when electrons from space ride waves in Earth’s magnetic field

By Maria TemmingJune 8, 2021
Nuclear clocks could outdo atomic clocks as the most precise timepieces

By Emily ConoverJune 4, 2021

Health & Medicine

Here’s what you should know about COVID-19 vaccine booster shots

By Erin Garcia de JesúsJune 11, 2021
Solving mysteries of reproduction helped make parenthood possible for millions

By Robin Marantz HenigJune 9, 2021
FDA approved a new Alzheimer’s drug despite controversy over whether it works

By Laura SandersJune 7, 2021

Earth

Scientists have found the origins of a mysterious, deadly flood in India

By Carolyn GramlingJune 10, 2021
2021 will be another busy year for the Atlantic hurricane season

By Carolyn GramlingMay 20, 2021
Lightning may be an important source of air-cleaning chemicals

By Maria TemmingApril 29, 2021

Science & Society

How science museums reinvented themselves to survive the pandemic

By Emily AnthesJune 4, 2021
50 years ago, scientists predicted steady U.S. population growth

By Sujata GuptaJune 3, 2021
A new memoir tells the life story of NASA ‘hidden figure’ Katherine Johnson

By Maria TemmingMay 25, 2021