All Stories
- Environment
Cheatgrass thrives on the well-lit urban night scene
Middle-grade campers team up with ecologists at Denver University to show that streetlights boost the growth of a reviled invasive species.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Tonsils
The tonsils are pads of tissue in the throat that are part of the body’s immune system.
- Tech
Synthetic trees could tap underground water in arid areas
They also could also help coastal residents mine fresh water from salty sources.
By Sid Perkins - Animals
Will the woolly mammoth return?
Scientists are using genetic engineering and cloning to try to bring back extinct species or save endangered ones. Here’s how and why.
- Animals
Cloning boosts endangered black-footed ferrets
A cloned ferret named Elizabeth Ann brings genetic diversity to a species that nearly went extinct in the 1980s.
- Science & Society
Empty stadium ‘ghost games’ increase losses for home teams
European soccer teams playing at home during the pandemic also racked up more foul calls.
By Nikk Ogasa - Psychology
What happened when Simone Biles got the twisties at the Olympics?
Stress might have led to physical and mental disorientation during the gymnastics competition. Still, a lot about the phenomenon remains unknown.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Haptic
Haptic is an adjective used to describe things related to our sense of touch.
- Health & Medicine
Cannabis may alter a teen’s developing brain
Marijuana use between ages 14 and 19 was linked to faster thinning of brain regions important in decision-making.
- Archaeology
A medieval grave may have held a powerful nonbinary person
A 1,000-year-old grave in Finland, once thought to hold a respected woman warrior, may belong to someone who didn’t have a strictly male or female identity.
By Bruce Bower - Psychology
How to resist and counter today’s flood of fake news
Although misinformation bothers most people, few know how to spot deceit or nonsense, studies find.
- Fossils
Baby pterosaurs may have been able to fly right after hatching
A bone crucial for lift-off was stronger in hatchling pterosaurs than in adults. The baby reptiles also had shorter, broader wings than grown-ups.