Skip to content
1932

How did eastern North America form?

With many collisions and much crumpling of rock, down the ages. The story holds lessons for how the edges of continents are built and change over time.

Ghost rivers, hidden lakes: The long search for water on Mars

Martian lake beds and deltas reveal the Red Planet’s watery past. But many puzzles remain, scientist Bruce Jakosky says.

For climate and livelihoods, Africa bets big on solar mini-grids

Nigeria is pioneering the development of small, off-grid solar panel installations to bring reliable electricity to remote communities — setting a model for other African countries

Born in thin air: Overcoming the challenges of pregnancy at high elevation

In people not adapted to life at altitude, the sparse oxygen can impair fetal growth, causing problems that can last a lifetime. Researchers are searching for remedies.

Why sizzling cities are mapping hot spots street by street

In metros like Reno, Nevada, citizen scientists hit the road to collect detailed temperature data — key to taming urban heat, saving lives and designing for a warmer future

Huh? The valuable role of interjections

Utterances like um, wow and mm-hmm aren’t garbage — they keep conversations flowing

Meet the capuchin monkey: Curious, creative and vengeful

UCLA’s Susan Perry has devoted decades to studying the fast-motion life of these New World primates and learning how the young acquire the skills they need to thrive

The teeming life of dead trees

Rotting logs turn out to be vital to forest biodiversity and recycling organic matter

Moon rocks reveal hidden lunar history

As NASA astronauts aim for landings in 2027, geologists find surprises in recently retrieved samples from the far side

Quiet couples: Alone time together

The right kind of silence can be golden, revitalizing and strengthening a relationship

Multimedia

Return of the California condor

North America’s largest bird disappeared from the wild in the late 1980s. Reintroduction work in the United States and Mexico has brought this huge vulture back to the skies. This is the story of its comeback.

Bringing the hospital into the home

A movement to provide hospital-level care for sick patients in their own beds, in the comfort of familiar surroundings, is growing in the United States — a trend already embraced in some other countries

Why regulating AI is so hard — and necessary

Misinformation, market volatility and more: Faced with the need to mitigate risks that artificial intelligence presents, countries and regions are charting different paths

Why scientists are enlisting fungi to save endangered plants

The mycorrhizae that live among and in plant roots can boost the health of certain species, and even whole ecosystems — but scientists warn against a one-size-fits-all approach

The caterpillars that can kill you

Some species make venoms that are deadly. With more research, those toxic compounds could yield useful medicines.

Solving renewable energy’s sticky storage problem

When the Sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, humanity still needs power. Researchers are designing new technologies, from reinvented batteries to compressed air and spinning wheels, to keep energy in reserve for the lean times.

Top science stories of 2024

This record-setting year for heat saw stunning auroras, a map of a brain, a Dengue epidemic, the first look at rocks from the far side of the Moon, an AI energy scramble and more

A devastating nerve disease stalks a mountain village

Neurologists have grappled with a cluster of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cases in France, where a fondness for a toxic wild mushroom may hold the answer

Making friends with your past and future selves

It’s what psychologists call self-continuity, and can improve your health and well-being

The ones who need little sleep

Short sleepers cruise by on four to six hours a night and don’t seem to suffer ill effects. Turns out they’re genetically built to require less sleep than the rest of us.

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error