All Stories
- Oceans
How some sunscreens damage coral reefs
In lab experiments, sea anemones and coral turned oxybenzone into a toxin activated by light. But helpful algae may provide a layer of protection.
- Neuroscience
A very specific kind of brain cell dies off in people with Parkinson’s
Of out 10 kinds of dopamine-making nerve cells, only one type is extra vulnerable in Parkinson’s disease.
- Climate
How much does eating meat affect nations’ greenhouse gas emissions?
How much meat eating affects worldwide greenhouse gas emissions comes clear in new country-by-country analyses.
- Archaeology
Ancient ‘smellscapes’ are wafting out of artifacts and old texts
In studying and reviving long-ago scents, archaeologists aim to understand how people experienced, and interpreted, their worlds through smell.
- Animals
Some hamsters are extremely susceptible to COVID-19
Golden Syrian hamsters used in research and popular as pets can become infected with SARS-CoV-2 with very low doses of the virus, a new study suggests.
- Planetary Science
Lava and frost may form the mysterious lumps on Jupiter’s moon Io
Jets of gas released when hot meets cold on the volcanic moon Io could generate sprawling fields of dunes, a study finds.
- Health & Medicine
The body’s response to allergic asthma also helps protect against COVID-19
A protein called IL-13 mounts defenses that include virus-trapping mucus and armor that shields airway cells from infection.
- Earth
Ancient zircons may record the dawn of plate tectonics
A change in gemstone composition starting about 3.8 billion years ago may offer the earliest record of one tectonic plate sliding over another.
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A changing climate means changes on the plate
Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses the future of food through the lens of climate change.
- Health & Medicine
How I decided on a second COVID-19 booster shot
Boosters help for a short time, and mixing vaccines doesn’t seem to push the immune system toward making unhelpful antibodies, studies show.
- Paleontology
Pterosaurs may have had brightly colored feathers on their heads
The fossil skull of a flying reptile hints that feathers originated about 100 million years earlier than scientists thought.
