All Stories

  1. An image showing 1+1=2 with other numbers fading into the black background.
    Math

    ‘Is Math Real?’ asks simple questions to explore math’s deepest truths

    In her latest book, mathematician Eugenia Cheng invites readers to see math as more than just right or wrong answers.

    By Evelyn Lamb
  2. An illustration of the Parker Solar Probe in front of Venus.
    Planetary Science

    Here’s another strike against Venus having copious lightning

    Past data and the Parker Solar Probe’s new discovery of weird whistler waves overturn the idea that Venus’ hellish atmosphere has a lot of lightning.

    By Sid Perkins
  3. An image of newly discovered stem cells shown in green.
    Health & Medicine

    Newly identified stem cells can lure breast cancer to the spine

    A new type of stem cell discovered in mice and humans might explain why cancer that spreads to other body parts preferentially targets the spine.

    By Meghan Rosen
  4. Illustration of a powerful jet of purple gas emanating from the black hole in the center of galaxy M87.
    Astronomy

    The black hole–powered jet in galaxy M87 is making stars explode

    Hubble Space Telescope data show a surprising number of nova blasts along the jet of high-speed gas coming from the galaxy M87.

    By Ken Croswell
  5. A photo of a silk worm next to a large collection of silk strands.
    Animals

    In a first, genetically modified silkworms produced pure spider silk

    An effort to engineer silkworms to produce spider silk brings us closer than ever to exploiting the extraordinary properties of this arachnid fiber.

    By Saima S. Iqbal
  6. a pink brain model on a blue background
    Neuroscience

    What a look at more than 3,000 kinds of cells in the human brain tells us

    A wide-reaching look at the cells that build the brain, detailed in 21 studies, showcases the brain’s cellular diversity and clues about how it works.

    By Laura Sanders
  7. A partial skeleton of a cave lion lays on a dark surface. A spear replica lies between the skull and vertebrae.
    Archaeology

    Neandertals hunted cave lions at least 48,000 years ago

    A new study reports the first direct evidence of Neandertals slaying the big cats, and the earliest evidence of any hominids killing a large predator.

    By Bruce Bower
  8. A photo of an ant tangled in a thin, red fiber.
    Life

    Ants may be the first known insects ensnared in plastic pollution

    At this point, it’s unclear whether this type of trash harms insects, but the discovery highlights the ubiquity of plastic pollution in the wild.

    By Jake Buehler
  9. Asteroid rock and dust appears on the outer surface of the circular capsule that collected the asteroid sample.
    Space

    NASA’s first look at a sample from asteroid Bennu reveals life’s building blocks

    Scientists have begun to analyze roughly 250 grams of Bennu, which could offer insight into solar system formation and life’s origins on Earth.

    By James R. Riordon
  10. microscope image showing pig kidney tissue with human proteins in fuchsia
    Health & Medicine

    A monkey survived two years with a miniature pig’s kidney

    A new study is the latest in a string of efforts seeking to use other animal species to solve the global organ shortage in people.

    By Meghan Rosen
  11. Illustration showing a donut-shaped cloud of vaporized rock and water in orange and red hues with a large rocky piece of debris in the foreground and a star in the background
    Planetary Science

    In a first, astronomers spot the afterglow of an exoplanet collision

    A surge of infrared light from a remote star might have been a glow cast by the vaporized leftovers of an impact between Neptune-sized worlds.

    By Elise Cutts
  12. A photo of two similar-looking white chickens looking at each other.
    Animals

    Gene editing can make chickens resistant to bird flu

    Chickens genetically modified to be impervious to avian influenza may one day prevent the spread of the disease on farms, a study suggests.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús