All Science
- Why the sun’s mysteries could soon be revealed
A trio of solar observatories – two space probes and one telescope – are taking unprecedented looks at our closest star.
- First LookSolar Orbiter's frontier mission: capture 'symphony of the sun'
Armed with an innovative heat shield, the U.S.-Europe collaboration will boldly go where no spacecraft has gone before – to photograph the sun's poles.
- First LookAstronaut Christina Koch returns after setting space record
U.S. astronaut Christina Koch set the record for the longest stay in space by a woman, 328 days. Her record offers new insights into the affects of weightlessness and space radiation on long spaceflights.
- First LookWhat scientists hope to find in the Indian Ocean 'Midnight Zone'
Scientists will dive thousands of feet into the Indian Ocean, where they expect to find new bioluminescent life – and the occasional plastic bag – hiding in the unexplored "Midnight Zone."
- Behold the xenobots – part frog, part robot. But are they alive?
A new class of robots, built from frog stem cells, is testing the boundaries of how we define life.
- Say goodnight, Spitzer. Farewell to a groundbreaking space telescope.
You’ve likely heard of Hubble and Kepler. But the Spitzer was the Swiss Army knife of space telescopes.
- The ExplainerCould 2020 mark a new era in US space exploration? Three questions.
After a nearly decade-long hiatus, 2020 will be the year that American astronauts rocket into space from American soil once again.
- For those about to rock: The scientist who played AC/DC for ladybugs
Where do ideas come from? For scientists like ecologist Brandon Barton, serious inquiry often starts with silly questions.
- From rockets to cuddly foxes, kids books that inspire scientific curiosity
From quantum physics for babies to Darwin for tweens, these titles promise to cultivate the budding scientist in your house.
- Etched in DNA: Decoding the secrets of the past
What does it mean to be human? Ancient DNA helps paleoanthropologists probe deeper into our ancestral past.
- First LookNASA astronaut sets new space endurance record for women
NASA astronaut Christina Koch broke the women's mark of 288 days in space. The U.S. record for longest space flight is 340 days set by Scott Kelly.
- In the final frontier, how should we behave?
Discovering alien life is no longer a matter of “if.” The launch of a new exoplanet-hunting space telescope, CHEOPS, brings that reality closer.
- Needling question: Can science create a perfect Christmas tree?
Gary Chastagner, a plant pathologist at Washington State University, has spent 40 years using science to try to engineer the perfect Christmas tree.
- Interstellar visitors open new window to the cosmos
Comet Borisov, the second known visitor from outside our solar system, heralds a new kind of astronomy: one where celestial bodies come to us.
- Climate change gets personal. Can one individual make a difference?
While COP25 delegates negotiate international rules for the Paris climate agreement, we explore the role of the individual in climate action.
- In Jordan’s desert, ancient rock art finds modern defenders
A project to safeguard ancient inscriptions and drawings in a desert valley is helping local Bedouins to draw connections to the past.
- ‘Property’ or ‘person’? How animal rights could open new moral frontier.
Elephant in animal rights case waits for sanctuary, but an orangutan from Argentine zoo now lives in Florida. Advocates push for their personhood.
- FocusMini but mighty: How microbes make the world
A pair of studies published this week expand our understanding of the ocean’s tiniest organisms, underscoring the vital role of the mighty microbe.
- The ExplainerShedding light on black holes
Once considered an improbable artifact of Einstein’s equations for general relativity, black holes are very real manifestations of how extremely massive objects can capture light itself.
- A physics Nobel for seeking our place in the universe
The Nobel Prize in physics goes to two exoplanet researchers and one cosmologist for launching a revolution in our perception of the cosmos.