All Stories
- Health & Medicine
A swarm of sneaky omicron variants could cause a COVID-19 surge this fall
Scientists are tracking similar mutations showing up in many variants that help the coronavirus evade some of our immune defenses and treatments.
- Earth
50 years ago, scientists found a new way to clean up oil spills
In the 1970s, researchers added chemicals to the list of oil spill cleanup methods. Soon, they may add microbes.
- Astronomy
A 3-D model of the Cat’s Eye nebula shows rings sculpted by jets
The Cat’s Eye is one of the most complex nebulae known. A 3-D reconstruction reveals the source of some of that complexity.
- Life
This ancient worm might be an important evolutionary missing link
A roughly 520-million-year-old fossil may be the common ancestor of a diverse collection of marine invertebrates.
- Archaeology
Drone photos reveal an early Mesopotamian city made of marsh islands
Urban growth around 4,600 years ago, near what is now southern Iraq, occurred on marshy outposts that lacked a city center.
- Paleontology
Dinosaur ‘mummies’ may not be rare flukes after all
Bite marks on a fossilized dinosaur upend the idea that exquisite skin preservation must result from a carcass's immediate smothering under sediment.
- Neuroscience
Clumps of human nerve cells thrived in rat brains
New results suggest that environment matters for the development of brain organoids, 3-D nerve cell clusters that grow and mimic the human brain.
- Planetary Science
NASA’s DART mission successfully shoved an asteroid
Data obtained since the spacecraft intentionally crashed into an asteroid show that the impact altered the space rock’s orbit even more than intended.
- Astronomy
The James Webb Space Telescope spied the earliest born stars yet seen
The stars, found in the first released science image from the James Webb Space Telescope, probably winked into existence about 13 billion years ago.
- Life
A glimpse inside a gecko’s hand won the 2022 Nikon Small World photo contest
The annual competition highlights microscopic images that bring the smallest details from science and nature to life.
- Health & Medicine
Cooperative sperm outrun loners in the mating race
Sperm that swim in clusters travel more directly toward the uterus, while overcoming fluid currents in the reproductive tract.
- Neuroscience
Why traumatic brain injuries raise the risk of a second, worse hit
Recent hits to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa have reignited discussions of brain safety for professional football players. Brain experts weigh in.
