All Stories
- Planetary Science
An asteroid could hit the moon in 2032, scattering debris toward Earth
Researchers are keeping an eye on the building-sized asteroid 2024 YR4, which has a 4 percent chance of hitting the moon seven years from now.
- Health & Medicine
He made beer that’s also a vaccine. Now controversy is brewing
An NIH scientist’s maverick approach reveals legal, ethical, moral, scientific and social challenges to developing potentially life-saving vaccines.
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Breaking Ground Crossword
Solve the crossword from our January 2026 issue, in which we take a crack at geological principles
- Astronomy
New Hubble images may solve the case of a disappearing exoplanet
A massive collision between two asteroid-sized bodies around a nearby star offers a rare look at the violent process of planetary construction.
- Health & Medicine
This newfound cascade of events may explain some female gut pain
Gut problems like irritable bowel syndrome are often worse in women. A mouse study reveals a pain pathway involving estrogen, gut cells and bacteria.
- Psychology
As gambling addiction spreads, one scientist’s work reveals timely insights
Psychiatrist Robert Custer spent his life convincing doctors that compulsive gambling was not an impulse control problem. Today, his research is foundational for diagnosis and treatment.
- Astronomy
A new hunt for an Earth analog begins
The Terra Hunting Experiment will track the wobbles of dozens of stars nightly for years in the most focused hunt yet for an Earth twin.
- Health & Medicine
Polar plunges aren’t just for the daring
Bragging rights and an adrenaline rush aren’t the only reasons to start the year with a frigid swim. A dip in icy water builds resilience.
- Microbes
This giant microbe organizes its DNA in a surprising way
3-D microscopy shows that the giant bacterium Thiovulum imperiosus squeezes its DNA into peripheral pouches, not a central mass like typical bacteria.
- Artificial Intelligence
A quantum trick helps trim bloated AI models
Machine learning techniques that make use of tensor networks could manipulate data more efficiently and help open the black box of AI models.
- Animals
Ancient DNA rewrites the tale of when and how cats left Africa
Cats were domesticated in North Africa, but spread to Europe only about 2,000 years ago. Earlier reports of “house” cats were wild cats.
- Physics
How to levitate objects sans magic
It’s possible to defy gravity using sound waves, magnets or electricity, but today’s methods can’t hoist heavy items high in the sky.
