All Stories
- Earth
Mineral hunting, mob math and more reader feedback
Readers ask about Earth's most abundant mineral and discuss the notoriously unpredictable behavior of pedestrians.
- Physics
On the biomechanics of popcorn
When popcorn pops, the biomechanics resemble both an explosion and a spring.
- Physics
How a violin’s f-holes influence its sound
F-shaped holes move air faster, allowing classic violins to put out more powerful sounds at lower frequencies than their ancestors, a new study shows.
- Physics
Raindrops kick up soil chemicals
The champagne-like fizz produced when a raindrop hits the ground may be responsible for the earthy aroma after a rainstorm.
- Psychology
Adults with autism are left to navigate a jarring world
Researchers are beginning to study ways to help adults with autism navigate independently, get jobs and find friendship.
- Climate
Artificial fixes for climate change nixed — for now
Experts says schemes to manually adjust the world’s climate are not ready for use, but should be studied just in case.
- Health & Medicine
Bouncing back from giving blood can take months
Taking iron supplements after donating blood can dramatically reduce the time it takes to recover iron levels in the blood, a study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Fallout from nuclear bomb testing presaged today’s radioactive tracers
Scientists in 1965 measured buildup of radioactive carbon from nuclear bomb testing in people.
- Neuroscience
A brain at rest offers clues to Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s
PET scans reveal that the breakdown of brain networks differs in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
- Environment
Humans’ environmental rap sheet gets longer
Ice cores reveal human-caused air pollution 240 years before the Industrial Revolution.
- Health & Medicine
Signs of sleep debt found in the blood
When rats and people skimp on sleep, fats and acids involved in metabolism dwindle.
- Astronomy
White dwarf pair will trigger a supernova — in 700 million years
Astronomers found two white dwarfs with enough mass to explode as a supernova.
