Mystery Solved

  1. Physics

    Raindrops kick up soil chemicals

    The champagne-like fizz produced when a raindrop hits the ground may be responsible for the earthy aroma after a rainstorm.

    By Andrew Grant
  2. Animals

    Earth’s magnetic field guides sea turtles home

    Over 19 years, geomagnetic fields changed slightly and so did loggerheads’ nesting sites.

    By Julia Rosen
  3. Earth

    Death Valley’s sailing stones caught on the move

    Mysterious sailing stones wandering around Death Valley are powered by ice and wind.

    By Thomas Sumner
  4. Paleontology

    Baby mammoths died traumatic deaths

    CT scans show that two young mammoths probably suffocated.

    By Meghan Rosen
  5. Psychology

    How string quartets stay together

    New data tracking millisecond-scale corrections suggests that some ensembles are more autocratic — following one leader —while other musical groups are more democratic, making corrections equally.