All Stories

  1. Life

    Laser light made inside cells

    Microscopic beads and oil droplets become lasers when implanted into cells.

    By Andrew Grant
  2. Physics

    Revamping the metric measure of mass

    The units of the metric system are on track for a 2018 makeover.

    By Sarah Schwartz
  3. Paleontology

    Fossils illustrate evolution of life

    Paleontologist Donald Prothero takes readers through the evolution of life on Earth from the earliest oozes of goo to our recent relative Lucy.

    By Ashley Yeager
  4. Planetary Science

    Pluto’s icy landscape comes into view

    The New Horizons flyby reveals varied terrain and evidence of active geology on Pluto.

    By Christopher Crockett
  5. Science & Society

    Autism’s journey from shadows to light

    Science writer Steve Silberman considers autism in the modern era of neurodiversity - a movement to respect neurological differences as natural human variation - framing the relatively progressive autistic experience of today against the the conditions oppressed past.

    By Laura Sanders
  6. Planetary Science

    Ice flows, haze offer more clues to Pluto’s geology

    New Horizons’ latest data reveal more hints about Pluto’s shrinking atmosphere and possible underground ocean.

    By Ashley Yeager
  7. Animals

    Stinkbugs are color conscious when it comes to their eggs

    P. maculiventris moms control the color of their eggs, seemingly pairing darker eggs with darker surfaces.

    By Sarah Schwartz
  8. Animals

    Stink bug moms are color conscious when it comes to their eggs

    P. maculiventris moms control the color of their eggs, seemingly pairing darker eggs with darker surfaces.

    By Sarah Schwartz
  9. Animals

    Social pecking order gives roosters something to crow about

    Small groups of laboratory roosters keep to the rankings for orderly morning crows.

    By Susan Milius
  10. Space

    Best cosmic ‘cradles of life’ may be elliptical in shape

    Giant elliptical galaxies might harbor up to 10,000 times as many Earthlike planets than galaxies like the Milky Way.

    By Christopher Crockett
  11. Materials Science

    Stretchy fiber lets electrons flow

    Folded layers of carbon nanotubes allow an elastic fiber to conduct electrical current when stretched.

    By Andrew Grant
  12. Materials Science

    Stretchy fiber keeps electrons flowing

    Folded layers of carbon nanotubes allow an elastic fiber to conduct electrical current when stretched.

    By Andrew Grant