All Stories
- Physics
Static electricity is a mystery, and scientists are all charged up
Scientists are largely clueless about the origins of static electricity. A quirky group of researchers aims to change that.
- Animals
A new documentary shows what growing up lion is really like
The thrilling National Geographic series, premiering August 19, follows Kio from lion cub to king.
- Astronomy
A record-breaking star could reveal how the Milky Way’s giant black hole spins
The star passes very close to the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole and could reveal the black hole’s spin by tracking how it warps the star’s orbit.
- Health & Medicine
No refrigerator, no problem. This experimental vaccine doesn’t need it.
In early trials, a new vaccine that didn’t require refrigeration still protected against tetanus and diphtheria.
- Animals
Shrews’ noses grow in winter as their brains shrink
Long-clawed shrews’ snouts temporarily grow larger in the winter. This skull reshaping may be an extreme survival strategy in cold conditions.
- Health & Medicine
What Spider-Man gets right — and wrong — about turning off superpowers
In 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' Peter Parker devises a superpower inhibitor based on a real therapy using RNA.
- Animals
Snail slime does many jobs thanks to calcium
Snails have five distinct types of mucus, each with its own job. The mollusks tweak calcium secretions to get the chemical mixture just right.
- Health & Medicine
The COVID-19 vaccine may offer brain cancer patients a surprise benefit
A recent shot of the COVID-19 vaccine doubled survival time in glioblastoma patients who had undergone tumor biopsy or surgery.
- Health & Medicine
How a brutal drought may have helped unleash yellow fever in Brazil
Animals searching for water brought the forest to the city, perhaps sparking Brazil’s first yellow fever outbreak in decades.
- Health & Medicine
A light-based scan could detect deadly bowel disease in preterm babies
Necrotizing enterocolitis strikes premature babies with almost no warning. A new approach aims to detect it early with a quick, low-risk scan.
- Neuroscience
A photographic memory is wishful thinking
In fiction, photographic memories crack the case or save the day. But our brains can’t hold on to everything — and that’s a good thing.
- Physics
The glue that binds a proton may be key to its identity
Gluons do more than hold protons together. They may also help define the proton’s identity through a quantum property called baryon number.
