All Stories

  1. Particle Physics

    Physicist Leon Lederman, renowned for his subatomic particle work, has died

    The Nobel Prize–winning particle physicist discovered multiple particles and wrote popular science books.

    By
  2. Life

    Lemur study suggests why some fruits smell so fruity

    A new test with lemurs and birds suggests there’s more to fruit odors than simple ripening.

    By
  3. Humans

    A 90,000-year-old bone knife hints special tools appeared early in Africa

    The discovery of a bone knife in a Moroccan cave points to the ancient emergence of specialized toolmaking in the region.

    By
  4. Astronomy

    Hubble may have spotted the first known exomoon

    A single sighting with the Hubble Space Telescope seems to confirm that there’s a Neptune-sized moon orbiting exoplanet Kepler 1625b.

    By
  5. Chemistry

    Speeding up the evolution of proteins wins the chemistry Nobel

    Work on evolving new proteins from old ones takes the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

    By
  6. Animals

    Giraffes inherit their spots from their mothers

    Africa’s tallest creatures get their characteristic patterns of spots from their moms, a new study finds.

    By
  7. Physics

    Dazzling laser feats earn these physicists a Nobel

    The 2018 Nobel Prize in physics went to scientists — including the third-ever female winner — who made optical tweezers and boosted the strength of laser pulses.

    By
  8. Climate

    Tracking how rainfall morphs Earth’s surface could help forecast flooding

    After Hurricane Harvey, scientists used GPS networks to track how Earth’s surface morphed under the weight of floodwaters.

    By
  9. Physics

    Groundbreaking ways of manipulating light win trio the 2018 physics Nobel

    Three scientists, including the third woman to win a physics Nobel, are honored for their laser inventions.

    By
  10. Health & Medicine

    Discovery of how to prod a patient’s immune system to fight cancer wins a Nobel

    Two scientists share the 2018 medicine Nobel for identifying proteins that act as brakes on tumor-fighting T cells.

    By and
  11. Plants

    Gene editing can speed up plant domestication

    CRISPR/Cas9 replays domestication to make better ground cherries and tomatoes.

    By
  12. Genetics

    Smuggling a CRISPR gene editor into staph bacteria can kill the pathogen

    A new way fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria co-opts toxin-producing genes.

    By