Feature
- Animals
Just Duet
Two or more birds in some species can sing with such coordination that a human listener would swear that it's just one singer. With audio files.
By Susan Milius - Paleontology
First Steps
Using materials as diverse as lobster eggs, dead birds, and the headless carcass of a rhinoceros, scientists are conducting experiments that scrutinize the first steps of the fossilization process.
By Sid Perkins - Tech
Is Anybody out There?
To speed the search for extraterrestrial life, researchers are using extreme conditions on Earth to develop a flotilla of detection devices to tease out signs of life in unlikely places.
- Health & Medicine
In Pixels and in Health
By simulating individual cells and their behavior inside the human body using a computer technique called agent-based modeling, scientists are gaining new insight into disease progression.
- Astronomy
Outer Limits
A slew of recently discovered objects at the far reaches of the solar system, including a possible tenth planet, are providing scientists with clues about the origin and evolution of this distant region.
By Ron Cowen - Animals
The Trouble with Chasing a Bee
Radar has long been able to detect high-flying clouds of insects, but it's taken much longer for scientists to figure out how to track your average bee.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
Bright Lights, Big Cancer
A woman's blood provides better sustenance for breast cancer just after she's been exposed to bright light than when she's been in steady darkness.
By Ben Harder - Physics
Magnetic Overthrow
Researchers have discovered and begun to exploit a fundamentally new way to exert magnetic influences, at least on extremely small scales.
By Peter Weiss - Humans
Science News of the Year 2005
A review of important scientific achievements reported in Science News during the year 2005.
By Science News - Humans
Irreplaceable Perplexity 101
An imaginary classroom provides lessons on the all-too-real debate over evolution and intelligent design.
By Bruce Bower - Ecosystems
Squirt Alert
A sea animal of unknown origins and lacking any known predator has begun commandeering ecosystems in cool coastal waters throughout the world.
By Janet Raloff - Humans
Archival Science
Photos from the Science Service archive at the Smithsonian offer fresh views of the Scopes evolution trial.