All Stories

  1. Microbes

    Genes point to how some bacteria can gobble up electricity

    A new study shows how some microbes absorb and release electrons — a trait that may point to new fuels or ways to store energy.

    By Stephen Ornes
  2. Physics

    Explainer: Understanding electricity

    Here’s what allows you to plug in and power up the devices in your life.

    By Trisha Muro
  3. Ecosystems

    Secret forest fungi partner with plants — and help the climate

    Forest fungi are far more than mere mushrooms. They explore. They move nutrients and messages between plants. They can even help fight climate change.

    By Kathryn Hulick
  4. Animals

    Meat-eating bees have something in common with vultures

    Flesh-eating bees have acid-producing gut bacteria, much as vultures do. It lets them safely snack on rotting meat.

    By Sharon Oosthoek
  5. Earth

    Analyze This: Nutrients from sewage may harm coastal ecosystems

    A new model suggests that 58 percent of coral reefs and 88 percent of seagrass beds are exposed to excess nitrogen from wastewater.

    By Carolyn Wilke
  6. Space

    Let’s learn about the hunt for alien life

    Finding any extraterrestrials, from advanced alien civilizations to simple microbes, would be an unmatched discovery.

    By Maria Temming
  7. Life

    Scientists Say: Experiment

    An experiment is a set of procedures to learn about the world — and an important part of the scientific process.

    By Maria Temming
  8. Archaeology

    Vikings were in North America 1,000 years ago

    Wooden objects provide the most precise dating yet for a Viking settlement on the coast of Newfoundland in Canada.

    By Bruce Bower
  9. Fossils

    Fossils point to earliest dinosaurs that lived in herds

    A fossilized family gathering of long-necked Mussaurus from 193 million years ago is the earliest evidence yet of herd behavior in dinos.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  10. Animals

    Explainer: The age of dinosaurs

    Take a trip back to the Mesozoic Era to explore how geologic events, ecosystems and evolution were connected during the so-called age of dinosaurs.

    By Beth Geiger
  11. Humans

    Genetics show humans likely trace back to Africa

    Our history began looking ever more complex once geneticists revealed our ancestors picked up new DNA as they traveled across time and continents.

    By Erin Wayman
  12. Humans

    The ultimate genealogical search hunts for our earliest ancestors

    The complex search to identify humans’ most distant cousins is long, complex and far from straightforward. It’s also far from over.

    By Erin Wayman
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