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An illustration of Betelgeuse and a companion star leaving a wake in its atmosphere

Space

Betelgeuse’s buddy leaves a wake in the giant star’s atmosphere

The wake left by Betelgeuse’s companion could solve a decades-old mystery of its strange brightness cycles.

By Lisa Grossman58 minutes ago

A telescope image shows a bright, elongated galaxy with a glowing central core encircled by a warped ring of stars and gas set against a field of stars and galaxies.

Galaxies with ‘hoop skirts’ are more common than we thought

By Lisa Grossman3 hours ago

Nuclear weapons testing science explained

Physics

Here’s the science behind nuclear weapons testing

By Emily ConoverJanuary 6, 2026

A collage of three photos shows people in a dense forest: one person in a yellow vest and mesh hood interacts with some equipment, a second person in a blue vest stands partly obscured by foliage and two others in red vests walk along a trail.

Animals

In a Quebec park, a science game brings predator-prey dynamics to life

By Danielle BeurteauxJanuary 6, 2026

a yellow star surrounded by jagged clouds of grey material

Space

First maps of the sun’s outer boundary may help predict solar storms

By Lisa GrossmanJanuary 5, 2026

A looping GIF of ants pulling a single pupa from a pile and beginning to rip it open

Animals

These sick baby ants sacrifice themselves to protect their colony

By Rohini SubrahmanyamJanuary 5, 2026

A cute pink frilly-headed axolotl salamander looks like it's smiling.

Science & Society

These scientific discoveries brought us joy in 2025

By Laura SandersJanuary 2, 2026

We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

Spotlight on Health

Image of blue pins with I got my COVID-19 vaccine written in white and yellow with a bandaid

Research hailing the benefits of the COVID-19 shot keeps coming

There was more good health news about the COVID-19 vaccine for infants, kids and adults in December. There’s still time to get the shot this winter.

By Aimee CunninghamDecember 23, 2025
He made beer that’s also a vaccine. Now controversy is brewing
Two more antibiotics have been approved in the U.S. to treat gonorrhea

Science News Magazine

Cover of January 2026 issue of Science News

January 1, 2026 Vol. 208 No. 1

From the Archives

Monkey Motherhood: Two for Primero

January 3, 1976 Vol. 109 No. #1

Featured Media

A cute pink frilly-headed axolotl salamander looks like it's smiling.

These scientific discoveries brought us joy in 2025

Amidst a tough year for science, glimmers of joy burst through in revelations from the silly to the sublime.

In a first, orcas and dolphins seen possibly hunting together

A T. rex in a red hoody sits on a couch scrolling on its phone in this cartoon style illustration, while a game console and an empty pizza-style box marked with an X of bones are nearby on the floor.

These fossil finds shed new light on the past in 2025

A German Shepherd leaps up to play with a large ball on a grassy field.

Science taught us a few new tricks about our pets in 2025

This cosmic image of two nebulas shows a bright pink splotch in the middle and lots of points of light speckling the whole scene.

These space stories made us look up in 2025

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More Stories

Life

Watch a cancer cell evade capture

By Meghan RosenDecember 22, 2025
How these strange cells may explain the origin of complex life

By Michael MarshallDecember 11, 2025
From viruses to elephants, nature thrives on tiled patterns

By Nikk OgasaDecember 10, 2025

Humans

Have a taste of our favorite food stories from 2025

By Carly KayDecember 24, 2025
‘Black Religion in the Madhouse’ examines psychiatry and race post-Civil War

By Aimee CunninghamDecember 12, 2025
Ancient southern Africans took genetic evolution in a new direction

By Bruce BowerDecember 3, 2025

Climate

Here are 3 big ideas to combat climate change, with or without COP

By Meghie Rodrigues and Carolyn GramlingNovember 26, 2025
Life-saving research on extreme heat comes under fire

By Nikk OgasaNovember 17, 2025
Hurricane Melissa spins into a monster storm as it bears down on Jamaica

By Carolyn GramlingOctober 28, 2025

Astronomy

Against the odds, a burbling lava planet retains an atmosphere

By Carly KayDecember 30, 2025
New Hubble images may solve the case of a disappearing exoplanet

By Javier BarbuzanoDecember 18, 2025
A new hunt for an Earth analog begins

By Mićo TatalovićDecember 17, 2025

Physics

'Crush' explores how gravity shapes life as we know it

By Ananya PalivelaDecember 29, 2025
How to levitate objects sans magic

By Maria TemmingDecember 15, 2025
Twisted stacks of 2-D carbon act like a weird type of superconductor

By Emily ConoverDecember 2, 2025

Health & Medicine

These medical breakthroughs and advances gave patients new hope in 2025

By Meghan RosenDecember 26, 2025
This newfound cascade of events may explain some female gut pain

By Bethany BrookshireDecember 18, 2025
Polar plunges aren’t just for the daring

By Jamie DucharmeDecember 17, 2025

Earth

Some of 2025’s scientific discoveries broke records

By Erin Garcia de JesúsDecember 31, 2025
An underwater volcano off Oregon didn’t erupt in 2025 after all. Why not?

By Carolyn GramlingDecember 22, 2025
Early Earth’s belly held onto its water

By Carolyn GramlingDecember 11, 2025

Science & Society

This new year, maybe resolve to quit

By Sujata GuptaJanuary 2, 2026
Gratitude can increase joy, even if it feels a little cringe

By Sujata GuptaNovember 26, 2025
Meet 5 scientists reshaping the way we understand the world

By Science News StaffNovember 21, 2025