All Stories
- Tech
This solar-powered device produces energy and cleans water at the same time
Someday, the two-for-one machine could help curb electricity and freshwater shortages.
- Earth
3 questions seismologists are asking after the California earthquakes
After back-to-back quakes, scientists are scrambling to figure out which faults ruptured and what it means for future California quake activity.
- Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence has now pretty much conquered poker
A new artificial intelligence called Pluribus is a real card shark at six-player no-limit Texas Hold’em.
- Paleontology
An ancient bird found encased in amber had a bizarrely long toe
A 99-million-year-old fossil holds a bird with an oddly long toe, which might have helped the critter hook hard-to-reach dinners.
- Animals
Southern right whale moms and calves may whisper to evade orcas
Mother-calf whale pairs call to each other quietly to stay in touch while avoiding attracting the attention of predators, a study suggests.
- Planetary Science
Hayabusa2 may have just snagged bits of asteroid Ryugu’s insides
In its second sampling attempt, Hayabusa2 became the first spacecraft to try to pick up some of an asteroid’s guts.
- Science & Society
Many fictional moon voyages preceded the Apollo landing
Landing on the moon for real dramatically demonstrated the confluence of science with the moon’s cultural mystique.
- Neuroscience
Both fish and humans have REM-like sleep
Sleeping zebrafish have brain and body activity similar to snoozing mammals, suggesting that sleep evolved at least 450 million years ago.
- Anthropology
A Greek skull may belong to the oldest human found outside of Africa
Humans possibly reached southeastern Europe by 210,000 years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Toddlers tend to opt for the last thing in a set, so craft your questions carefully
Two-year-olds demonstrate a verbal quirk that makes their answers less reliable.
- Planetary Science
See how visualizations of the moon have changed over time
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, here’s a collection of images that show how the moon has been visualized over the ages.
- Astronomy
Moons that escape their planets could become ‘ploonets’
If giant planets in other star systems lose their moons, the freed objects could become “ploonets,” and current telescopes may be able to find them.
