It’s a wonderful world — and universe — out there.

Topics

Chemistry

a poison dart frog with a black-spotted, golden body and black feet sitting on a rock

Animals

At last: How poison dart frogs ship defense toxins to their skin

A liver protein appears to help the amphibians collect and move toxins from their food to their skin. Those toxins can defend the frogs from predators.

By Erin Garcia de Jesús18 hours ago

an illustration of graphene shows a net-like sheet of atoms connected in a honeycomb pattern

Materials Science

Let’s learn about graphene

By Maria TemmingJanuary 30, 2024

a barn full of dairy cows in stalls eating

Climate

Chemists make device to destroy planet-warming methane pollution

By Laura AllenJanuary 22, 2024

Earth

two fence-like rows of tubes (one grey, one green) run across a platform toward other equipment under a blue sky

Scientists Say: Carbon capture

Carbon capture technology tackles climate change by stomping out carbon dioxide at the source.

By Katie Grace Carpenter18 hours ago

a photo of a person walking along the Flint River in downtown Flint Michigan

Health & Medicine

Health problems persist in Flint 10 years after water poisoning

By Kathiann KowalskiMarch 14, 2024

a group of young children of varying ages playing on the floor with blocks

Health & Medicine

9 things to know about lead’s health risks — and how to curb them

By Kathiann KowalskiMarch 14, 2024

Humans

a close up of a hand with a pen writing

Brain

Handwriting may boost brain connections that aid memory

Writing with a pen — but not typing — boosted links between regions used for motion and memory. That may help explain why writing fosters learning.

By Claudia López LloredaMarch 15, 2024

a group of young children of varying ages playing on the floor with blocks

Health & Medicine

9 things to know about lead’s health risks — and how to curb them

By Kathiann KowalskiMarch 14, 2024

a photo of a person walking along the Flint River in downtown Flint Michigan

Health & Medicine

Health problems persist in Flint 10 years after water poisoning

By Kathiann KowalskiMarch 14, 2024

Life

a poison dart frog with a black-spotted, golden body and black feet sitting on a rock

Animals

At last: How poison dart frogs ship defense toxins to their skin

A liver protein appears to help the amphibians collect and move toxins from their food to their skin. Those toxins can defend the frogs from predators.

By Erin Garcia de Jesús18 hours ago

a close up of a hand with a pen writing

Brain

Handwriting may boost brain connections that aid memory

By Claudia López LloredaMarch 15, 2024

Animals

Experiment: Are we there yet? Test how migratory birds navigate

By Science BuddiesMarch 13, 2024

Math

a bunch of oranges stacked in a pyramid against a white background

Math

Geometry can shape our world in unexpected but useful ways

This math, and the geometers who use it, can solve problems from how to stack oranges to designing better vaccines.

By Lakshmi ChandrasekaranFebruary 29, 2024

The produce section of a grocery store with lots of fruit and vegetables on sloped displays

Physics

How much fruit can you pull from a display before it topples?

By Darren IncorvaiaFebruary 7, 2024

Civil Engineer Destenie Nock stands in front of a gray starburst background. She is a black woman with medium length, curly hair. She is wearing a tan blouse with black swirls and patterns.

Math

This civil engineer turns to math to make energy more affordable

By Aaron TremperJanuary 29, 2024

Physics

an image that is filled with nothing but blueberries

Physics

Here’s why blueberries aren’t blue — but appear to be

Blueberries actually have dark red pigments — no blue ones — in their skin. Tiny structures in the fruits’ waxy coat are what make them seem blue.

By Erin Garcia de JesúsMarch 5, 2024

a photo of STEVE and the green picket fence skyglows in a starry night sky. Still water refects the sky. On the far right is a typical green aurora.

Earth

The weird sky glow called STEVE is really confusing scientists

By Maria TemmingFebruary 22, 2024

Jets of water extend out of an s-shaped sprinkler in a tank of liquid

Physics

Physics explains what happens when a lawn sprinkler sucks in water

By Emily ConoverFebruary 21, 2024

Science & Society

a photo of a person walking along the Flint River in downtown Flint Michigan

Health & Medicine

Health problems persist in Flint 10 years after water poisoning

Flint, Mich., residents still show health impacts long after a switch in their drinking-water source exposed them to toxic lead and other pollutants.

By Kathiann KowalskiMarch 14, 2024

A photo of people marching across a bridge over the Flint River from February 19, 2016. A Black woman in the middle of the image is holding hands with another Black woman, both are raising their voices in protest. The woman on the left has a sign that reads 'Water is a human right' - MI Nurses Association. Behind the women and to the right other protesters can be seen marching.

Science & Society

Community action helps people cope with Flint’s water woes

By Kathiann KowalskiMarch 14, 2024

a group of young children of varying ages playing on the floor with blocks

Health & Medicine

9 things to know about lead’s health risks — and how to curb them

By Kathiann KowalskiMarch 14, 2024

Space

the total solar eclipse in 2017, photographed with a special filter making the sun's corona

Earth

Get ready for the 2024 total solar eclipse

A total solar eclipse will race across North America on April 8, 2024, providing a rare opportunity for both scientists and casual observers.

By James R. RiordonMarch 7, 2024

a dark rock about the size of a tennis ball sits atop a piece of foil on an open palm

Space

Let’s learn about meteorites

By Maria TemmingFebruary 27, 2024

Space

Scientists Say: Solar Cycle

By Maria TemmingFebruary 26, 2024

Tech

two fence-like rows of tubes (one grey, one green) run across a platform toward other equipment under a blue sky

Scientists Say: Carbon capture

Carbon capture technology tackles climate change by stomping out carbon dioxide at the source.

By Katie Grace Carpenter18 hours ago

Health & Medicine

Family, friends and community inspired these high school scientists

By Maria TemmingMarch 12, 2024

A teen girl in a classroom holds up a plastic model of a molecule

Science & Society

Scientists Say: Model

By Katie Grace CarpenterMarch 4, 2024