All Stories
- Environment
Radioactive material from Fukushima disaster turns up in a surprising place
Radioactive cesium is reaching the ocean through salty groundwater.
- Astronomy
How a meteor shower helped solve the case of the vanishing comet
A missing comet has been linked to a long-lost meteor shower, helping astronomers recover both.
- Life
Body clock mechanics wins U.S. trio the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine
The cellular mechanisms governing circadian rhythms was a Nobel Prize‒winning discover for three Americans.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum mysteries dissolve if possibilities are realities
Quantum mysteries can be avoided if reality encompasses possibilities as well as actualities, a new paper proposes.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum video chat links scientists on two different continents
A Sept. 29 ultrasecure quantum video chat demonstrates the potential for quantum communications across the globe.
- Astronomy
New questions about Arecibo’s future swirl in the wake of Hurricane Maria
The iconic Arecibo Observatory was damaged in Hurricane Maria, but not as much as originally thought. But its funding is still in doubt.
- Astronomy
Ice in space might flow like honey and bubble like champagne
Zapping simulated space ice with imitation starlight makes the ice act more like a liquid than a solid, meaning similar ices in space might be good places for organic chemistry.
- Health & Medicine
Seeing an adult struggle before succeeding inspires toddlers to persevere too
When 15-month-olds watched an adult struggle and then succeed, the toddlers were more likely to try harder themselves, a study found.
- Oceans
Castaway critters rafted to U.S. shores aboard Japan tsunami debris
Researchers report finding 289 living Japanese marine species that washed up on American shores on debris from the 2011 East Japan earthquake and tsunami.
- Climate
Tropical forests have flipped from sponges to sources of carbon dioxide
Analyses of satellite images suggest that degraded forests now release more carbon than they store.
- Genetics
Ancient boy’s DNA pushes back date of earliest humans
Genes from South African fossils suggest humans emerged close to 300,000 years ago.
- Genetics
A mutation may explain the sudden rise in birth defects from Zika
A mutation in a protein that helps Zika exit cells may play a big role in microcephaly.
