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A photographic memory is wishful thinking

In fiction, photographic memories crack the case or save the day. But our brains can’t hold on to everything — and that’s a good thing.

By Erin Garcia de Jesús3 hours ago

Physics

The glue that binds a proton may be key to its identity

By Emily Conover22 hours ago

A burst of plasma is ejected from the sun

Space

Stars’ plasma spurts may be blocked by magnetic fields

By Emily ConoverAugust 13, 2026

Artist's depiction of a pregnant mammal ancestor Chiniquodon theotonicus and another nursing two young.

These mammal ancestors birthed live young far earlier than thought

By Carolyn GramlingAugust 13, 2026

A older woman reads the directions on estrogen or hormone therapy.

Health & Medicine

Estrogen therapy is linked to fewer signs of Alzheimer’s in the brain

By Nora BradfordAugust 12, 2026

An illustration of the Artemis I uncrewed mission around the moon shows a space capsule with a cutaway, showing three figures simulating astronauts inside. Two are torsos colored in way to indicate what radiation dose they are exposed to.

Space

A vest tested on the Artemis I mission blocked some radiation exposure

By Skyler WareAugust 12, 2026

A female Cope’s gray tree frog has made her choice. She mates with a male after careful selection.

Animals

Too many choices complicate female frogs’ sex lives

By Freda KreierAugust 12, 2026

We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

Spotlight on Vaccines

An illustration of bandaids atop vaccine vials and syringes.

Eroding access to childhood vaccines jeopardizes health for all

Recent U.S. decisions about vaccines signal bigger changes to come that could threaten the foundation of the national childhood immunization schedule.

By Aimee CunninghamNovember 19, 2025
Amid vaccine policy whiplash, here’s how a pediatrician talks to families
Vaccine hesitancy is nothing new. Here’s the damage it’s done over centuries

Science News Magazine

August 2026 issue of Science News

August 1, 2026 Vol. 208 No. 8

From Science News Investors Lab

Featured Media

a segment of the sun's surface with jagged lines and shades of orange swirls

These tiny swirls on the sun could trigger solar flares

Scientists have finally seen a long-predicted motion on the sun, and it may help explain explosive solar activity.

What’s to blame for Canada’s wildfires?

The outline of the constellation Orion is seen on a starry sky. An inset pointing to one spot on Orion has an image of the red supergiant Betelgeuse. An inset of that image shows a bright spot near the big star.

New images reveal Betelgeuse’s buddy star

illustration of the 4 different types of black holes: primordial, stellar, intermediate, and supermassive, over a background of space.

What kinds of black holes exist — and how are they different?

An underwater image of a black and white orca swimming seemingly alone.

Watch an orca ram into a sunfish so hard it explodes

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More Stories

Life

The natural history of every U.S. state is on display at a new D.C. exhibit

By Aaron Tremper and Mandana TadayonJuly 2, 2026
Can DEET attract mosquitoes? A lab study offers clues

By Erin Garcia de JesúsMay 28, 2026
Cows’ methane burps may be fueled by a newfound organelle in gut microbes

By Tina Hesman SaeyApril 30, 2026

Humans

Who owns your bones?

By Nancy ShuteJuly 18, 2026
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

Climate

A new map traces the sky’s water highways

By Siddhant PusdekarJuly 14, 2026
Can geoengineering blunt El Niño’s fury?

By Carolyn GramlingJuly 8, 2026
A robot swarm is on a mission to map Greenland’s perilous ice sheets

By Mićo TatalovićJuly 7, 2026

Astronomy

A newly found world blurs the boundary between planet and moon

By Lisa GrossmanJuly 22, 2026
This “exotic weirdo” exoplanet has a rocky surface and an atmosphere

By Lisa GrossmanJuly 16, 2026
A quasar breaks the record for most distant supermassive black hole

By Lisa GrossmanJuly 14, 2026

Physics

Pickles glow when you plug them in. Science explains why

By Emily ConoverJuly 6, 2026
A potential hindrance to fusion power may help instead

By Emily ConoverJune 24, 2026
Here’s what would happen if you tried to break a photon in half

By Maria TemmingJune 12, 2026

Health & Medicine

Newborn screening for cancer risk could save lives. Should it be done?

By Meghan RosenAugust 12, 2026
Here’s what the first mRNA flu vaccine could mean for flu season

By Cassie MartinAugust 6, 2026
Bullfrogs may have an antidote to deadly shellfish poisoning

By Katarina ZimmerAugust 5, 2026

Earth

Mammals moving between the Americas stopped over in Mexico

By Bethany BrookshireJuly 30, 2026
A tropical permafrost layer in Peru may be one of the world’s largest

By Danielle BeurteauxJune 22, 2026
A 2011 earthquake bounced a seismic wave off Earth’s core, nudging Japan east

By Katherine KorneiJune 18, 2026

Science & Society

Bamboo toilet paper intrigued me. Reality turned out to be messy

By Rebecca DzombakAugust 11, 2026
Science backs calls for limiting screens in schools

By Sujata GuptaAugust 10, 2026
The golden age of language was a few thousand years ago

By Sujata GuptaJuly 23, 2026