All Stories
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EcosystemsThis seagrass is taking over the Chesapeake Bay. That’s good and bad news
Higher water temperatures are wiping out eelgrass in the Chesapeake Bay and weedy widgeongrass is expanding. Here’s why that seagrass change matters.
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Health & Medicine50 years ago, scientists thought coffee might treat hyperactivity
Decades of follow-up research into whether caffeine can treat the symptoms of kids with ADHD has come up with more questions than answers.
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PaleontologyThis ancient, Lovecraftian apex predator chased and pierced soft prey
Half a billion years ago, Anomalocaris canadensis probably used its bizarre headgear to reach out and snag soft prey with its spiky clutches.
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ChemistryTear-resistant rubbery materials could pave the way for tougher tires
Adding easy-to-break molecular connectors surprisingly makes materials harder to tear and could one day reduce microplastic pollution from car tires.
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Psychology‘Fires in the Dark’ illuminates how great healers ease mental suffering
Kay Redfield Jamison’s new book examines approaches used throughout history to restore troubled minds and broken spirits.
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LifeRats sense the wind with antennae-like whiskers above their eyes
Long, thin whiskers above rats’ eyes appear to sense faint air movement, which may be helpful for detecting moving threats in dark, narrow corridors.
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PhysicsElectrons are extremely round, a new measurement confirms
The near-perfect roundness deepens the mystery behind how the universe came to be filled with matter as opposed to antimatter.
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Science & SocietyCalifornia’s long-standing affirmative action ban hints at what’s to come
Alternative race-neutral polices to affirmative action have fallen short in encouraging diversity in California schools, research shows.
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ClimateAntarctic sea ice has been hitting record lows for most of this year
Since hitting a record low minimum back in February, the amount of Antarctic sea ice has stayed well below normal all year.
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AnimalsThese researchers are reimagining animal behavior through a feminist lens
Ambika Kamath and Melina Packer are working to overturn biased, outdated views in biology.
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LifeA 407-million-year-old plant’s leaves skipped the usual Fibonacci spirals
Most land plants living today have spiral patterns involving the famous Fibonacci sequence of numbers. But an extinct, ancient plant did not.
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LifeIn Australia, mosquitoes and possums may spread a flesh-eating disease
Field surveys show that genetically identical bacteria responsible for a skin disease called Buruli ulcer appear in mosquitos, possums and people.