All Stories

  1. Life

    Spiders love sweet smell of blood perfume

    For on spider species, feeding on blood-gorged mosquitoes adds charm to a mate

    By Susan Milius
  2. Health & Medicine

    Psychiatric meds can bring on rapid weight gain in kids

    Drugs that alleviate severe mental disorders can also result in troubling metabolic changes.

    By Nathan Seppa
  3. Earth

    Unicorn fly of the Cretaceous

    An ancient fly discovered trapped in amber sports a horn atop its head and topped with three eyes.

    By Rachel Ehrenberg
  4. Life

    African genetic diversity

    Researchers are just beginning to explore the genetic landscape of the cradle of humanity

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  5. Health & Medicine

    Redefining self, phantom self

    Amputees who feel phantom limbs can learn to do physically impossible body tricks

    By Rachel Ehrenberg
  6. Health & Medicine

    Skin bacteria different in diabetic mice

    An excessive number and low diversity of skin bacteria could explain why wounds in diabetics are slow to heal

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  7. Science & Society

    College trend: Cut-rate faculty

    Among U.S. colleges and universities, tenure-track positions decreasingly represent the norm. “Adjuncts who teach part time are now about half of the professoriate,” according to a series of articles in the Oct. 23 Chronicle of Higher Education. Non-tenure-track faculty may be offered full-time slots and benefits, but with embarrassing paychecks.

    By Janet Raloff

  8. As the worms churn

    Burrowing animals mix soil and sediments, shaping the environment and scientists’ understanding of it.

    By Sid Perkins
  9. Earth

    World’s longest cave formation still growing

    Minerals still accumulate in New Mexico’s Snowy River.

    By Sid Perkins

  10. A partnership apart

    DNA in hand, scientists dissect and redefine the iconic lichen mutualism.

    By Susan Milius

  11. Better living through plasmonics

    Mixing light with nanotechnology could help treat cancer and build faster computers.

    By Jenny Lauren Lee

  12. Snapshots from 25 years of publicizing astronomy

    Astronomer and author Stephen P. Maran recently retired from 25 years as press officer for the American Astronomical Society. He also worked at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., for more than 35 years. Known for his Einsteinian hair, along with his quips and insightful comments at press briefings that drew record crowds, […]

    By Stephen Maran