All Stories
- Astronomy
‘Black Hole’ traces 100 years of a transformative idea
Implied by general relativity and proven by astronomical discoveries, black holes’ existence took decades for physicists to accept.
- Microbes
Possible nearest living relatives to complex life found in seafloor mud
New phylum of sea-bottom archaea microbes could be closest living relatives yet found to the eukaryote domain of complex life that includes people.
- Animals
Ivory listings found on Craigslist as elephant poaching continues
Elephants are hunted by the thousands to meet demand for ivory products.
- Science & Society
Cancerous clams and other sci-fi fodder
Fans of science fiction will find a few items in this issue sure to trip the imagination.
- Astronomy
Wandering planets, the smell of rain and more reader feedback
Readers consider how hard it would be to fashion Paleolithic tools, discuss what to call free-floating worlds and more.
- Planetary Science
How did Earth get its water?
Earth is a wet planet that formed in a dry part of the solar system. How our planet’s water arrived may be a story of big, bullying planets and ice-filled asteroids.
- Physics
Scientists take first picture of thunder
Scientists precisely capture thunder sound waves radiating from artificially triggered lightning.
- Neuroscience
Stimulating nerve cells stretches time between thinking, doing
A head zap can stretch the time between intention and action.
- Neuroscience
Children with autism excel at motion detection test
Children with autism outperform children without the disorder on a test that requires averaging the movements of lots of dots.
- Chemistry
Designer drugs hit dangerous lows to bring new highs
A surge in designer drugs, which emulate the highs of classic illicit substances with unpredictable effects, is keeping law enforcement busy.
- Paleontology
Oldest known avian relative of today’s birds found in China
Fossil find suggests modern birds’ oldest avian relative lived about 6 million years before previous record holder.
- Physics
Nobel laureate foresees mind-expanding future of physics
A Nobel laureate forecasts deeper understanding of physics and new powers for the human mind in the century to come.
