All Stories
- Science & Society
Patience is one virtue scientists must embrace
Acting Editor in Chief Elizabeth Quill discusses how being patient isn't always easy in scientific work.
- Astronomy
Inquiries about the moon’s twilight zone, and more reader feedback
Readers had questions about the moon's tidal locking, quantum communication, microneedles and more.
- Astronomy
As Cassini’s tour of Saturn draws to a close, a look back at postcards from the probe
As Cassini prepares to plunge to its death, we celebrate the spacecraft's discoveries and breathtaking images of Saturn, its rings and moons.
- Paleontology
This ancient sea worm sported a crowd of ‘claws’ around its mouth
A newly discovered species of arrow worm that lived over half a billion years ago had about twice as many head spines as its modern kin.
- Health & Medicine
Seeing one picture at a time helps kids learn words from books
A small study found that children were better able to pick up vocabulary from books that show only one picture at a time.
- Tech
New antennas are up to a hundredth the size of today’s devices
A new type of antenna could be used in tiny electronics for wearable tech, injectable medical devices and more.
- Astronomy
These chip-sized spacecraft are the smallest space probes yet
Space initiative dubbed Breakthrough Starshot sent the smallest spacecraft yet into orbit around Earth.
- Health & Medicine
Birth control research is moving beyond the pill
After decades of research, reproductive biologists are on the verge of developing new birth control options that stop sperm from maturing or save a woman's eggs for later.
- Anthropology
Some secrets of China’s terra-cotta army are baked in the clay
Specialized production system lay behind the famous terra-cotta troops found in ancient Chinese emperor’s tomb.
- Astronomy
On a mountain in Wyoming, the eclipse brings wonder — and, hopefully, answers
Astronomy writer Lisa Grossman joined scientists on a mountain in Wyoming who were measuring the corona using four different instruments to try to figure out why it’s so hot.
- Planetary Science
Mars has nighttime snow storms
When clouds of water-ice particles cool at night, snow starts to fall rapidly on Mars, simulations suggest. The squalls could explain observations made by the Phoenix lander in 2008.
- Science & Society
Today is the day! A last-minute guide for watching the Great American Eclipse
You’ve probably heard this already, but there’s a total solar eclipse traversing the United States today, August 21. Here’s what you need to know.
