All Stories
- Environment
Trash researcher tallies ocean pollution
Marcus Eriksen has always had a thing for trash, and now he tallies ocean pollution.
By Julia Rosen - Ecosystems
Dam demolition lets the Elwha River run free
Removing a dam involves more than impressive explosions. Releasing a river like Washington state's Elwha transforms the landscape and restores important pathways for native fish.
- Computing
‘The Imitation Game’ entertains at the expense of accuracy
Inaccuracies weaken “The Imitation Game,” an otherwise enjoyable film about Alan Turing breaking the Enigma code during World War II.
By Andrew Grant - Life
Contamination blamed in STAP stem cell debacle
Stem cells supposedly made in acid baths were really embryonic stem cells, investigation finds.
- Ecosystems
Cities are brimming with wildlife worth studying
Urban ecologists are getting a handle on the varieties of wildlife — including fungi, ants, bats and coyotes — that share sidewalks, parks and alleyways with a city’s human residents.
- Genetics
The art of DNA folding
Cells must compress genetic material into a nucleus that measures only about 5 micrometers across. To accomplish the feat, cells make loops in the DNA.
- Quantum Physics
Bell’s math showed that quantum weirdness rang true
50 years ago, John Bell proved a theorem that led the way to establishing the weirdness of quantum physics.
- Health & Medicine
Priming the elderly for flu shots
A drug that shuts down a potent signaling molecule in cells might boost protection elicited with flu vaccination, a study finds.
By Nathan Seppa - Astronomy
Europa’s geysers play hard-to-see
Follow-up observations of Europa failed to confirm the existence of geysers venting the Jupiter moon’s hidden ocean into space.
By Andrew Grant - Humans
Precursors of human sperm and eggs made from stem cells
Reprogrammed adult human cells can produce germ cells, precursors of sperm and eggs.
- Animals
Bees, up close and personal
A photo archive from the U.S. Geological Survey's Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab offers detailed photos of bee species.
By Susan Milius - Animals
China’s reindeer are on the decline
A small, semi-domesticated population of reindeer found in northern China is suffering due to threats ranging from inbreeding to tourism.