Meet some of the microbes that give cheeses flavor
Cheese making has been around for thousands of years, and there are now more than 1,000 varieties of cheese worldwide. But what exactly makes some…
Indigenous people may have created the Amazon’s ‘dark earth’ on purpose
CHICAGO — Indigenous people in the Amazon may have been deliberately creating fertile soil for farming for thousands of years. At archaeological sites across the…
Jumping beans’ random strategy always leads to shade — eventually
Given enough time, jumping beans will always find their way out of the sun. Jumping beans, which are really seed pods with twitchy moth larvae…
Fungi that cause serious lung infections are now found throughout the U.S
Three types of fungi that cause serious lung infections and were once thought to be confined to certain regions of the United States are now…
Meet the first Black American to earn an evolutionary biology Ph.D.
A Voice in the WildernessJoseph L. Graves Jr.Basic Books, $30 It’s both good and bad that the first Black American to earn a Ph.D. in…
We could get messages back from spacecraft sent through a wormhole
If you ever happen to fall through a wormhole in space, you won’t be coming back. It will snap shut behind you. But you may…
Brain scans suggest the pandemic prematurely aged teens’ brains
Living through the COVID-19 pandemic may have matured teens’ brains beyond their years. From online schooling and social isolation to economic hardship and a mounting…
Medical racism didn’t begin or end with the syphilis study at Tuskegee
“We were all hard-working men … and citizens of the United States.” Herman Shaw, 1997 Born in Alabama in 1902, Herman Shaw was a farmer…
These 5 biomedical advances gave 2022 a sci-fi feel
COVID-19 may continue to dominate headlines, but this year’s biomedical advances weren’t all about “the Rona.” 2022 saw fruitful and seemingly fantastical research that could…
The last vital ingredient for life has been discovered on Enceladus
CHICAGO — The last key ingredient for life has been discovered on Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus. Phosphorus is a vital building block of life, used…
Extreme weather in 2022 showed the global impact of climate change
It was another shattering year. Climate change amped up weather extremes around the globe, smashing temperature records, sinking river levels to historic lows and raising…
Sleeping glass frogs hide by storing most of their blood in their liver
As tiny glass frogs fall asleep for the day, they take almost 90 percent of their red blood cells out of circulation. The colorful cells…
These science discoveries from 2022 could be game changers
These reported discoveries from 2022 could be game changers, if only we were sure of the findings. News reports this year left us wondering ……
Humans haven’t set foot on the moon in 50 years. That may soon change
A perfect ending for the final Apollo — Science News, December 23, 1972 Project Apollo ended this week. The last moon men … returned to…
Io may have an underworld magma ocean or a hot metal heart
CHICAGO — An entire ocean of liquid magma, or maybe a hot heart of solid metal, may lurk in Io’s underworld. The surface of Jupiter’s…
Some common medical terms may be more confusing than doctors think
Medical language can sometimes stump patients. And some common sayings are straight-up head-scratchers. Calling a patient’s neurological exam “grossly intact,” for example, might not sound…
2022’s biggest climate change bill pushes clean energy
The world needed bold climate action this year, and we got it. California and other states announced plans to phase out gas-powered cars after 2035.…
Scientists thought snakes didn’t have clitorises. They were wrong
Female snakes have clitorises too, a new study finds. The research raises the possibility that the sex lives of snakes are more complicated and diverse…
The Hunga Tonga volcano eruption touched space and spawned a lightning blitz
When the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in the Pacific Ocean erupted earlier this year, the event was one for the record books — in several…
NASA’s Perseverance rover captured the sound of a dust devil on Mars
Thanks to a bit of good luck, the Mars rover Perseverance has captured the first-ever sound of a Martian dust devil. The NASA rover has…
How 4 major coronavirus tools impacted the pandemic in 2022
The third year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States introduced vaccines for very young children and an updated booster, plus wider availability of…
In a breakthrough experiment, nuclear fusion finally makes more energy than it uses
Scientists have finally managed to bottle the sun. Researchers with the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, Calif., have ignited controlled nuclear fusion that resulted in…
Katydids had the earliest known insect ears 160 million years ago
Over 100 million years ago, the chirps of insects known as katydids dominated the sounds of Earth’s nights. Now, fossils reveal what the katydid ears…
Artemis 1’s Orion capsule returned safely to Earth. What’s next?
NASA’s Orion passenger space capsule has passed a huge test, splashing down intact in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico on December 11.…
Viruses other than the coronavirus made headlines in 2022
This year delivered many sobering reminders that the coronavirus isn’t the only viral threat out there. Mpox went global The mpox virus, a relative of…
How much water should you drink a day? It depends on several factors
Are you drinking enough water? The question seems like it should have a straightforward answer — a specific amount of water you need to drink…
Why pandemic fatigue and COVID-19 burnout took over in 2022
2022 was the year many people decided the coronavirus pandemic had ended. President Joe Biden said as much in an interview with 60 Minutes in…
How to make tiny metal snowflakes
Look closely at a snowflake, and you’ll observe a one-of-a-kind gossamer lattice, its growth influenced by ambient conditions like temperature and humidity. Turns out, this…
The ancestor to modern brewing yeast has been found hiding in Ireland
In 1516, the duchy of Bavaria in Germany imposed a law on its beer brewers meant to reserve ingredients like wheat and rye for the…
The metric system is growing. Here’s what you need to know
Meet the metric system’s newest prefixes: ronna-, quetta-, ronto- and quecto-. Adopted November 18 at the 27th General Conference on Weights and Measures in Versailles,…
50 years ago, physicists found the speed of light
A New Figure for the Cosmic Speed Limit – Science News, December 2, 1972 A group at the National Bureau of Standards at Boulder, Colo.,…
A bizarre gamma-ray burst breaks the rules for these cosmic eruptions
Astronomers have spotted a bright gamma-ray burst that upends previous theories of how these energetic cosmic eruptions occur. For decades, astronomers thought that GRBs came…
A new book asks: What makes humans call some animals pests?
PestsBethany BrookshireEcco, $28.99 We spend so much time making sure wildlife stays away from us, whether that’s setting traps, building fences or putting out poisons.…
A natural gene drive could steer invasive rodents on islands to extinction
In the battle against the invasive house mouse on islands, scientists are using the rodent’s own genes against it. With the right tweaks, introducing a…
Homo naledi may have lit fires in underground caves at least 236,000 years ago
An ancient hominid dubbed Homo naledi may have lit controlled fires in the pitch-dark chambers of an underground cave system, new discoveries hint. Researchers have…
A new supercomputer simulation animates the evolution of the universe
The infant universe transforms from a featureless landscape to an intricate web in a new supercomputer simulation of the cosmos’s formative years. An animation from…
Why the sale of a T. rex fossil could be a big loss for science
Tyrannosaurus rex isn’t just a king to paleontologists — the dinosaur increasingly reigns over the world of art auctions. A nearly complete skeleton known as…
This dinosaur may have had a body like a duck’s
A dinosaur unearthed in Mongolia is making a splash among paleontologists, as its sleek physique adds potential evidence to the idea that some dinos were…
Artemis missions will usher in a new, more diverse crew of astronauts
When astronaut Eugene Cernan stepped from the moon’s surface into his spacecraft in December 1972, he was aware it was the end of an era.…
Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano is erupting. Here’s what you need to know
Mauna Loa, Earth’s largest active volcano, abruptly woke up on November 27 after an almost 40-year nap. The volcano shot fountains of lava as high…
Physicists explain how to execute a nearly splashless dive
Olympic divers slice into a pool with a quick turn underwater that minimizes splash. But not for the reasons many athletes think it does, according…
50 years ago, a ‘cure’ for intoxication showed promise
A get-sober pill? — Science News, November 18, 1972 Researchers at the Tucson Veterans Administration Hospital have been able to reduce intoxication time in rats…
‘Forever chemicals’ may pose a bigger risk to our health than scientists thought
For decades, chemicals that make life easier — your eggs slide out of the frying pan, stains don’t stick to your sofa, rain bounces off…
Dry pet food may be more environmentally friendly than wet food
Pet owners may have a new reason to reach for the kibble. Dry cat and dog food tends to be better for the environment than…
How researchers are working to fill the gaps in long COVID data
It’s been more than two years since the first long COVID patients called attention to their condition. But researchers are still unable to answer basic…
Here’s why some supermassive black holes blaze so brightly
For the first time, astronomers have observed how certain supermassive black holes launch jets of high-energy particles into space — and the process is shocking.…
Rats can bop their heads to the beat
Humans aren’t the only animals known to move to a musical beat. For instance, parrots do it, too. And now rats have been observed bopping…
A spider monkey’s remains tell a story of ancient diplomacy in the Americas
A sacrificed spider monkey is shedding new light on an ancient Mesoamerican relationship. The remains of a 1,700-year-old monkey found in the ancient city of…
Long considered loners, many marsupials may have complex social lives
Marsupials may have richer social lives than previously thought. Generally considered loners, the pouched animals have a wide diversity of social relationships that have gone…
How physics can improve the urinal
Restroom visitors can expect cleaner knees and tidier floors, if they happen to use a new urinal inspired by curves in nature. The key to…