All Stories
- Health & Medicine
An abundance of toys can curb kids’ creativity and focus
Too many toys may lead to more shallow play for toddlers, a new study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Fracking linked to low birth weight in Pennsylvania babies
Babies born to moms living within one kilometer of a hydraulic fracturing site were more likely to be born underweight, researchers say.
- Earth
Federal maps underestimate flood risk for tens of millions of people, scientists warn
New flood maps suggest that the U.S. government underestimates how many people live in floodplains.
- Tech
Electric eels provide a zap of inspiration for a new kind of power source
Battery-like devices inspired by electric eels could someday power wearable and implantable tech or soft robots.
- Science & Society
These are the most-read Science News stories of 2017
From Cassini and eclipses to ladybugs and dolphins, Science News online readers had a wide variety of favorite stories on our website.
- Science & Society
2017 delivered humility, and proved our potential
Acting Editor in Chief Elizabeth Quill reflects on some of the top scientific stories of 2017.
- Science & Society
Colliding neutron stars, gene editing, human origins and more top stories of 2017
A gravitational wave discovery is the year's biggest science story — again.
- Astronomy
This year’s neutron star collision unlocks cosmic mysteries
A rare and long-awaited astronomical event united thousands of astronomers in a frenzy of observations.
- Genetics
CRISPR gene editing moved into new territory in 2017
Scientists edited viable human embryos with CRISPR/Cas9 this year.
- Climate
The Larsen C ice shelf break has sparked groundbreaking research
The hubbub over the iceberg that broke off Larsen C may have died down, but scientists are just getting warmed up to study the aftermath.
- Humans
The story of humans’ origins got a revision in 2017
Human evolution may have involved the gradual assembly of scattered skeletal traits, fossils of Homo naledi and other species show.
- Astronomy
Seven Earth-sized planets entered the spotlight this year
The discovery of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a single cool star fuels a debate over what counts as good news in the search for life outside the solar system.
