Betelgeuse went dark, but didn’t go supernova. What happened?
Astrophysicist Miguel Montargès has a clear memory of the moment the stars became real places to him. He was 7 or 8 years old,...
Health
Coronavirus shutdowns don’t need to be all or nothing
We were warned this might happen. While millions stayed home last spring, looking to summer for respite from the virus, experts worried that an...
The FDA has approved the first drug to treat the rapid-aging disease progeria
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a treatment that could give children with a rare genetic illness that causes premature aging more...
Mineral body armor helps some leaf-cutting ants win fights with bigger kin
Leaf-cutting worker ants might look like they’d be helpless against an enemy soldier ant many times their size. But some of the smaller ants...
A face mask may turn up a male wrinkle-faced bat’s sex appeal
For tips on how to flirt while wearing a mask, take notes from nature’s experts: male wrinkle-faced bats. The first video of a wrinkle-faced...
Immunity to COVID-19 may persist six months or more
As coronavirus cases in the United States and around the world rise, scientists are uncovering hints that immunity for those who have had COVID-19...
Oxford and AstraZeneca say their COVID-19 vaccine works too
A COVID-19 vaccine made by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford appears to prevent illness and may cut down on transmission of the coronavirus....
Lonely brains crave people like hungry brains crave food
A hungry brain craves food. A lonely brain craves people. After spending a day completely isolated from anyone else, people’s brains perked up at...
Newton’s groundbreaking Principia may have been more popular than previously thought
Isaac Newton’s 17th century book, the Principia, gave the famed English scientist a reputation: “[T]here goes the man that writt a book that neither...
The biblical warrior Goliath may not have been so giant after all
Early versions of the Bible describe Goliath — an ancient Philistine warrior best known as the loser of a fight with the future King...
A new treatment could restore some mobility in people paralyzed by strokes 
What has Perseverance found in two years on Mars? 
This robot automatically tucks its limbs to squeeze through spaces 
Greta Thunberg’s new book urges the world to take climate action now