All Stories
- Environment
Local glacier could be gone in a decade, young scientist finds
A teen calculated the volume of a glacier by drilling into it with jets of steam — then used that to estimate how long before all its ice will be gone.
- Plants
Scientists Say: Pollen
Pollen is a mass of tiny reproductive cells. These grains combine with egg cells to form seeds — but on the way, they can make some people miserable.
- Planets
The Perseverance rover split CO2 on Mars to make breathable air
This oxygen-making experiment shows that astronauts could one day make air to breathe and to help fuel their ride back home.
- Computing
Will this smartphone app become your exercise coach?
When one teen couldn’t go to the gym, she invented an app to bring her gymnastics coach to her home. She succeeded and won a major award for it.
- Tech
No animal died to make this steak
The ribeye steak is the first of its kind, and the latest in a growing list of meats printed with a 3-D bioprinter instead of being harvested from an animal.
- Tech
New robots can clean virus-laden surfaces so people won’t have to
Smart and nimble cleaning robots will soon help disinfect spaces. They twist and bend to hit hard-to-reach spaces with UV light or cleansing sprays.
- Genetics
Europe’s ancient humans often hooked up with Neandertals
DNA from ancient bones shows humans and Neandertals were regularly mixing genes by about 45,000 years ago.
- Earth
Here’s how lightning may help clean the air
Airplane observations show that storm clouds can generate huge quantities of air-cleansing chemicals known as oxidants.
- Ecosystems
Analyze This: Invasive species cost the world billions each year
A new study estimates that invasive species have cost the world more than $1 trillion since 1970. That’s almost certainly an underestimate.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Metal
Metals are substances that can be elements, alloys or compounds. They all conduct heat and electricity and can be formed into different shapes.
- Materials Science
New device gets power from 5G signals grabbed from the air
A new way to harvest electricity relies on a tiny array of antennas and a lens. Together, they collect and focus 5G signals coming from any direction.
- Physics
Why big nuts always rise to the top
X-rays scans of a box of mixed nuts now reveal why large Brazil nuts rise to the top.
