Science News Staff

All Stories by Science News Staff

  1. Planetary Science

    Comet delivered a showy meteor shower — on Mars

    Comet Siding Spring dumped several tons of material into the Martian atmosphere that could have damaged NASA spacecraft.

  2. Animals

    Hermit thrushes, humans share some musical basics

    The melodious birds share a humanlike bias for notes mathematically related by simple integers.

  3. Earth

    More multi-tornado days in the forecast for U.S.

    The number of days per year with tornadoes has gone down over the last few decades in the U.S., but the number of days that see 30 or more twisters is going up.

  4. Astronomy

    Amateur astronomer spots supernova in nearby galaxy

    Koichi Itagaki noticed the exploding star as a brilliant point of light in the spiral galaxy M61.

  5. Astronomy

    Rendezvous with a comet

    On November 12, Rosetta mission scientists successfully completed the first-ever attempt to put a lander on a comet. See all Science News coverage of Rosetta and Philae's voyage to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

  6. Microbes

    Feedback

    Readers shares stories about bacteria, discuss ancient volcanic eruptions and express a fondness for science-inspired art.

  7. Science & Society

    Asteroids closer to home may get us to Mars

    NASA should abandon its attempt to bring a space rock into lunar orbit and instead scrutinize ones already whizzing by Earth, one scientist argues.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Cocoa antioxidants boost the aging brain

    High doses of cocoa flavanols can improve some types of brain function in older individuals, a new study shows.

  9. Astronomy

    Supersized sunspot is largest in decades

    A colossal sunspot large enough to be seen with the naked eye now blemishes the nearside of the sun, covering an area wide enough to comfortably fit 10 Earths side by side.

  10. Astronomy

    Comets caught zooming around nearby star

    The young star Beta Pictoris hosts at least two families of comets, which might mirror our solar system’s past.

  11. Astronomy

    Second stop planned for mission to Pluto

    Scientists identify three possible targets for the New Horizons probe after it visits the former planet.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Feedback

    Readers discuss methods to prevent sepsis and whether genes are thrifty, while Tina Saey clears up some confusion regarding Ebola's airborne status.