Feature

  1. 2011 Science News of the Year

    You can’t make this stuff up. An earthquake and tsunami trigger the worst nuclear accident in decades, contaminating thousands of square kilometers in one of the world’s most densely populated countries. Analyses of a sliver of finger bone reveal that the genes of an extinct human relative survive in many people living today. Single-celled organisms […]

    By Science News

  2. Jars of Plenty

    Ancient Greek trading vessels carried much more than wine.

    By Susan Gaidos
  3. Humans

    Missing Lincs

    Lesser-known genetic material helps explain why humans are human.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  4. Tech

    Out of the Box

    3-D entertainment steps beyond the glasses and headaches.

    By Devin Powell

  5. Venus Unveiled

    Spacecraft finds Earthy features on sister planet.

    By Nadia Drake

  6. New Takes on Historic Quakes

    Two centuries on, scientists revisit the magnitudes of New Madrid’s biggest rumbles.

    By Science News
  7. Plants

    Flirty Plants

    Searching for signs of picky, competitive mating in a whole other kingdom.

    By Susan Milius

  8. A Spitting Image of Health

    How saliva can help doctors diagnose disease.

    By Susan Gaidos

  9. Darwin’s Tongues

    Languages, like genes, can tell evolutionary tales.

    By Bruce Bower

  10. Space Eats

    Astronaut journey to Mars requires new age nibbles.

    By Alexandra Witze

  11. Lopped Off

    Removal of top predators trickles through the food web.

    By Nadia Drake

  12. Beware the Long Tail

    Economic models of risk don’t add up, cadre of researchers caution.

    By Rachel Ehrenberg