All Stories

  1. an illustration of a galaxy with a quasar, shown as a a swirl of blue and pink with a beam bisecting the center against the starry backdrop of space
    Astronomy

    In a first, JWST detected starlight from distant galaxies with quasars

    Until JWST’s sharp infrared eyes came along, it wasn’t possible to see the galaxies hosting extremely bright supermassive black holes called quasars.

    By Lisa Grossman
  2. A photo of Daphne Martschenko with a white background.
    Genetics

    Daphne Martschenko is a champion for ethical, inclusive genomics research

    A bioethicist focused on the genomics revolution, Daphne Martschenko fosters open discussion through “adversarial collaboration”

    By Martina G. Efeyini
  3. Two black and white photos of a mysterious gecko specimen. The image on top show the underside of the gecko while the bottom image shows the top view of the gecko.
    Animals

    DNA has revealed the origin of this giant ‘mystery’ gecko

    A genetic analysis of a 19th century museum specimen, the only known example of the planet’s biggest gecko, has rewritten the animal’s backstory.

    By Natalie van Hoose
  4. An illustration of a Gonkoken nanoi dinosaur walking on the shore of a lake
    Life

    New fossils from Patagonia may rewrite the history of duck-billed dinosaurs

    New findings are adding a wrinkle to researchers’ understanding of how duck-billed dinosaurs conquered the Cretaceous world.

    By Jake Buehler
  5. A photo of a dusty barren ground with the tree line seen in the middle distance.
    Ecosystems

    The Amazon might not have a ‘tipping point.’ But it’s still in trouble

    Scientists race to foretell the fate of the vast forest facing deforestation and climate change.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  6. An illustration of sound waves showing peaks and valleys in different colors
    Physics

    Physicists split bits of sound using quantum mechanics

    New experiments put phonons — the tiniest bits of sound — into quantum mechanical superpositions and show they are as weird as other quantum entities.

    By James R. Riordon
  7. A radar map of the North Atlantic ocean showing large areas of unusually high temperatures in orange and red, with some blue spots near the east coast of North America
    Climate

    Why is the North Atlantic breaking heat records?

    Record-breaking sea-surface temperatures off the coast of Africa may affect the 2023 hurricane season. What’s fueling the unusual heat is unclear.

    By Sid Perkins
  8. An illustration of a supermassive black hole orbiting an even larger black hole with a field of stars in the background.
    Astronomy

    A supermassive black hole orbiting a bigger one revealed itself with a flash

    A supermassive black hole binary system has puzzled astronomers for decades. Now they’ve finally seen direct signals from the smaller of the two.

    By Lisa Grossman
  9. A photo of Eakta Jain standing next to a brown horse in a grassy area.
    Tech

    How understanding horses could inspire more trustworthy robots

    Computer scientist Eakta Jain pioneered the study of how human-horse interactions could help improve robot design and shape human-robot interactions.

    By Rachel Crowell
  10. An image of photosynthetic bacteria appears in shades of blue, purple and green on a black background.
    Chemistry

    One photon is all it takes to kick off photosynthesis

    A single particle of light is the spark that begins the process of turning light to chemical energy in photosynthetic bacteria, a new study confirms.

    By Emily Conover
  11. A close up photo of a bee sitting on a purple flower with green leaves and stems in the background.
    Life

    ‘Polyester bees’ brew beer-scented baby food in plastic cribs

    Ptiloglossa bees’ baby food gets its boozy fragrance from fermentation by mysteriously selected microbes.

    By Susan Milius
  12. An image of several red blood cells.
    Health & Medicine

    ‘In the Blood’ traces how a lifesaving product almost didn’t make it

    There’s plenty of drama in Charles Barber’s new book, which explores why a blood-clotting invention was initially dismissed.

    By Meghan Rosen