All Stories

  1. Planetary Science

    How alien ‘canals’ sparked debate over life on Mars

    In The Martians, journalist David Baron recounts scientific and public debate over purported intelligent life on the Red Planet.

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  2. Planetary Science

    Cosmic rays could, in theory, sustain life on other worlds

    The hypothesis could extend the search for extraterrestrial life to include frigid planets with thin atmospheres and underground water.

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  3. Environment

    A glacier burst, flooding Juneau. Again. This one broke records

    A warming climate is behind growing floods of glacier meltwater in Alaska’s capital. Scientists say it’s the new normal.

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  4. Anthropology

    A 104-centimeter-long hair could rewrite recordkeeping in Inca society

    Analysis of the hair used in a knotted device reveals the owner’s simple diet. That suggests commoners, not just the elite, kept records in Inca society.

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  5. Physics

    Sunlight is all that’s needed to keep these tiny aircraft aloft

    Sun-powered fliers could use photophoretic forces to hover in the mesosphere, gathering data from a region off limits to planes and balloons.

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  6. Animals

    Warm autumns could be a driver in monarch butterflies’ decline

    In the lab, higher temperatures during fall migration led monarchs to break their reproductive pause, increasing their risk of death.

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  7. Humans

    Stopping menopausal hormones may require more bone monitoring

    Women face a small rise in fracture risk within 10 years of stopping therapy, suggesting the need for additional monitoring.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    The sugar substitute sucralose makes immunotherapy less effective

    Found in Splenda, sucralose reduces immunotherapy efficacy via its effects on the gut microbiome, but arginine supplements might counter the outcome.

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  9. Materials Science

    Scientists re-create a legendary golden fabric from clam waste

    Sea silk, once spun from endangered clams, may make a comeback — thanks to discarded fibers from a farmed species. The find could sustainably revive a fading art.

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  10. Paleontology

    Dinosaur teeth reveal some were picky eaters

    The enamel in fossilized teeth reveals some dinosaurs preferred to eat particular parts of plants.

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  11. Environment

    See how aerosols loft through Earth’s sky

    Aerosols, small particles in the atmosphere like salt and dust, may offset a third of human-caused climate warming, though their influence is fading.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    How flossing a mouse’s teeth could lead to a new kind of vaccine

    Flu viruses often enter the body through mucous tissue in the nose. Researchers are developing new ways to protect such areas.

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