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A close-up of a young girl's shoulder getting an injection from an older woman

Health & Medicine

Widespread use of HPV shots could mean fewer cervical cancer screenings

A modeling study of Norway, which has high HPV vaccination coverage and uniform cervical cancer screening, suggests fewer screens could be needed.

By Aimee Cunningham4 hours ago

An older woman lays on her side in bed and stares at her alarm clock

Health & Medicine

Poor sleep may account for a large share of dementia cases

By Marla Vacek Broadfoot11 hours ago

A tear gas canister flies toward a crowd of people.

Health & Medicine

Tear gas and pepper spray can have lasting health effects

By Nikk Ogasa13 hours ago

A researcher shines a handheld light across fragile parchment containing handwritten text.

Physics

A Greek star catalog from the dawn of astronomy, revealed

By Adam MannJanuary 30, 2026

An illustration of a person having positive thoughts tied to the placebo effect of vaccines in new research

A study hints positive thinking could strengthen vaccine immunity

By Simon MakinJanuary 30, 2026

Humpback whales pop their mouths out of the water while seabirds fly overhead.

Animals

Canadian humpback whales thrive with a little help from their friends

By Chiara MarchisioJanuary 30, 2026

A young child pokes an elderly man on the nose

Health & Medicine

Genes may shape how long we live more than once thought

By Jake BuehlerJanuary 29, 2026

We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

Spotlight on Health

This composite image shows different sources of fat in our diets: someone slicing steak, three half avocados, four strips of salmon ready to cook, someone pouring olive oil on a salad, a stick of butter with its wrapper half off and a jar of nuts.

What the new nutrition guidelines get wrong about fat

New U.S. dietary guidelines promote eating full-fat foods and meats. But experts say nuts and seed oils are better sources of the two crucial fats we need.

By Tina Hesman SaeyJanuary 28, 2026
Artificial lungs kept a man alive until he could get a transplant
The brain’s response to a heart attack may worsen recovery

Sponsored Partner Content

Walter “Wally” Gilbert is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor Emeritus and Emeritus Chair of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. Gilbert is an alumnus of the 1949 Science Talent Search (STS), a program of Society for Science.

Conversations with Maya: Walter Gilbert

This article has been paid for and developed by Society for Science.

Science News Magazine

cover of February 2026 issue of Science News

February 1, 2026 Vol. 208 No. 2

Featured Media

Humpback whales pop their mouths out of the water while seabirds fly overhead.

Canadian humpback whales thrive with a little help from their friends

Humpback whales are teaching each other a feeding technique called bubble netting, and it's helping a Canadian population recover from whaling.

Two X-rays side by side show a man's new lungs and his old ones, which wew so damaged they could not hold air.

Artificial lungs kept a man alive until he could get a transplant

different animals appearing to experience joy – laughing or smiling. Axolotl, turtle, monkey, horse and dolphin.

Animals experience joy. Scientists want to measure it

This hand stencil in Indonesia is now the oldest known rock art

This detached hand robot has a thing for skittering on its fingertips

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More Stories

Life

There’s life beneath the snow, but it’s at risk of melting away

By Bethany BrookshireJanuary 20, 2026
Watch a cancer cell evade capture

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

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Humans

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By Carly KayDecember 24, 2025
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Climate

Polar bears in the Barents Sea are staying fat despite rapid sea ice loss

By Rebecca DzombakJanuary 29, 2026
Earth’s last 3 years were its hottest on record

By Carolyn GramlingJanuary 13, 2026
Hidden tree bark microbes munch on important climate gases

By Douglas FoxJanuary 8, 2026

Astronomy

A double cosmic explosion could be the first known ‘superkilonova’

By Lisa GrossmanJanuary 9, 2026
Galaxies with ‘hoop skirts’ are more common than we thought

By Lisa GrossmanJanuary 7, 2026
Against the odds, a burbling lava planet retains an atmosphere

By Carly KayDecember 30, 2025

Physics

A massive clump of dark matter may lurk in the Milky Way

By Emily ConoverJanuary 29, 2026
Physics theories about the multiverse are stranger than fiction

By Maria TemmingJanuary 23, 2026
Queen bumblebees are poor foragers thanks to sparse tongue hair

By Emily ConoverJanuary 12, 2026

Health & Medicine

It masquerades as malignant. But this bone-covered tumor is benign

By Carly KayJanuary 23, 2026
Color blindness hides a key warning sign of bladder cancer

By Elie DolginJanuary 15, 2026
Botox could be used to fight snakebite

By Jake BuehlerJanuary 13, 2026

Earth

A long-lost tectonic fragment may be shaking Northern California

By Carolyn GramlingJanuary 16, 2026
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

Science & Society

These scientific discoveries brought us joy in 2025

By Laura SandersJanuary 2, 2026
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