All Stories
- Anthropology
A jawbone shows Denisovans lived on the Tibetan Plateau long before humans
A Denisovan jaw is the earliest evidence of hominids on the Tibetan Plateau, and the first fossil outside of Siberia from the mysterious human lineage.
- Physics
How scientists traced a uranium cube to Nazi Germany’s nuclear reactor program
New research suggests that the Nazis had enough uranium to make a working nuclear reactor.
- Earth
Dry sand can bubble and swirl like a fluid
Put two types of sand grains together in a chamber, and they can flow like fluids under the right conditions.
- Astronomy
Skepticism grows over whether the first known exomoon exists
New analyses of the data used to find the first discovered exomoon are reaching conflicting results.
- Health & Medicine
A mysterious dementia that mimics Alzheimer’s gets named LATE
An underappreciated form of dementia that causes memory trouble in older people gets a name: LATE.
- Physics
Here’s what causes the aurora-like glow known as STEVE
Amateur astronomer images and satellite data are revealing what causes the strange atmospheric glow called STEVE.
- Health & Medicine
How holes in herd immunity led to a 25-year high in U.S. measles cases
U.S. measles cases have surged to 704. Outbreaks reveal pockets of vulnerability where too many unvaccinated people are helping the virus spread.
- Science & Society
A science-themed escape room gives the brain a workout
Quantum physicist Paul Kwiat reveals what it takes do well in LabEscape, his science-themed escape room.
- Animals
How aphids sacrifice themselves to fix their homes with fatty goo
Young aphids swollen with fatty substances save their colony by self-sacrifice, using that goo to patch breaches in the wall of their tree home.
- Health & Medicine
Why war’s emotional wounds run deeper for some kids and not others
Researchers examine why war’s emotional wounds run deep in some youngsters, not others.
- Science & Society
How we reported on the challenges of using ancestry tests to solve crimes
Here’s how we found out what happened when an arrest was made in the Golden State Killer case that was tied to genetic testing.
- Science & Society
How we reported a controversial story about the day the dinosaurs died
Here’s how we covered the story of new fossils found in the Tanis site in North Dakota, including the story’s more controversial elements.
