News

  1. blurry illustration of the exoplanet Wasp-39 b with its star in the background
    Astronomy

    The James Webb telescope spotted CO2 in an exoplanet’s atmosphere

    The first definitive detection of the gas on a world in another solar system paves the way for detections in planets that are more Earthlike.

    By Lisa Grossman
  2. NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft preparing to launch against a hazy sky
    Space

    NASA’s Artemis I mission sets the stage for our return to the moon

    The launch, scheduled for August 29, will test many aspects of the rocket, capsule and spacesuits that will take astronauts back to the moon.

    By Lisa Grossman
  3. photo of a levitating force sensor in gold amid red-hued light
    Physics

    ‘Chameleon’ forces remain elusive in a new dark energy experiment

    A hypothetical fifth force associated with “chameleon” dark energy and that morphs based on its environment didn’t turn up in a sensitive experiment.

    By Emily Conover
  4. mealworms on a table, in a wooden spoon, and in a wooden bowl, surrounded by green leaves
    Science & Society

    A new seasoning smells like meat thanks to sugar — and mealworms

    A spoonful of sugars could help cooked mealworms go down more easily, a potential boon for the planet.

    By Anil Oza
  5. 3-D models of an upper leg bone and two forearm bones, each shown from two angles
    Anthropology

    7-million-year-old limb fossils may be from the earliest known hominid

    An earlier report on one of the bones of a 7-million-year-old creature that may have walked upright has triggered scientific misconduct charges.

    By Bruce Bower
  6. image of the face of someone sleeping in bed under a blue sheet
    Neuroscience

    Sleep deprivation may make people less generous

    Helping each other is inherently human. Yet new research shows that sleep deprivation may dampen people’s desire to donate money.

    By Sujata Gupta
  7. a close-up photo of a jumping spider
    Animals

    News stories have caught spiders in a web of misinformation

    Nearly half of news stories about peoples’ interactions with spiders contain errors, according to a new analysis.

    By Betsy Mason
  8. An illustration of a huge asteroid crashing into ocean. An ancient sea creature is visible under the water
    Earth

    Not one, but two asteroids might have slain the dinosaurs

    A craterlike structure found off West Africa’s coast might have been formed by an asteroid impact around the same time the dinosaurs went extinct.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  9. A scanning electron microscope image of a sea urchin skeleton, showing many honeycomb-like holes
    Animals

    Sea urchin skeletons’ splendid patterns may strengthen their structure

    “Voronoi” geometric patterns found in sea urchin skeletons yield strong yet lightweight structures that could inspire the creation of new materials.

    By Rachel Crowell
  10. Illustration of a carnivorous erythrosuchid (looks like a cross between a dinosaur and a crocodile) reaching for tiny gliding reptiles in a forest
    Animals

    Extreme climate shifts long ago may have helped drive reptile evolution

    The end-Permian extinction left reptiles plenty of open ecological niches. But rapid climate change may be what kick-started the animals’ dominance.

    By Beth Geiger
  11. A close-up of a 'zombie' fungus erupting from the body of a fly. The fungus has long, thin stalks ending in puffy 'heads'.
    Life

    An award-winning photo captures a ‘zombie’ fungus erupting from a fly

    The winner of the 2022 BMC Ecology and Evolution photo competition captures a macabre cycle of life and death in the Peruvian Amazon

    By Richard Kemeny
  12. Seven yellow water-resistant jackets hanging up on a rack next to a pair of yellow rain boots
    Environment

    Common, cheap ingredients can break down some ‘forever chemicals’

    Forever chemicals, or PFAS, are harmful compounds that are very difficult to degrade. But some are no match for lye and dimethyl sulfoxide.

    By Jude Coleman