Imaging scans show where symbols turn to letters in the brain

Scientists watched brain activity in a region where reading takes root, and saw a hierarchy of areas that give symbols both sound and meaning.

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Electrodes show a glimpse of memories emerging in a brain

Nerve cells in an important memory center in the brain sync their firing and create fast ripples of activity seconds before a recollection resurfaces.

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Climate misinformation may be thriving on YouTube, a social scientist warns

Analyzing 200 climate-related videos on YouTube shows that a majority challenge widely accepted views about climate change and climate engineering.

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Murray Gell-Mann’s ‘totalitarian principle’ is the modern version of Plato’s plenitude

The ancient principle of plenitude is reborn in the modern belief that whatever can exist must exist.

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Alzheimer’s targets brain cells that help people stay awake

Nerve cells in the brain that are tied to wakefulness are destroyed in people with Alzheimer’s, a finding that may refocus dementia research.

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A new FDA-approved drug takes aim at a deadly form of tuberculosis

The antibiotic could help tackle extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, which kills tens of thousands each year.

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LIGO and Virgo probably spotted the first black hole swallowing up a neutron star

In a first, astronomers may just have detected gravitational waves from a black hole merging with a neutron star.

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We’re closing down our comment section

Science News’ forthcoming website won’t feature comment sections on stories, but instead will invite e-mail feedback so readers can make their voices heard.

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Chemists have created and imaged a new form of carbon

A new molecule takes its place among buckyballs, carbon nanotubes and other odd forms of carbon.

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Fluid in superdeep diamonds may be from some of Earth's oldest unchanged material

Primordial rock deep in the mantle and dating to just after Earth’s formation could yield insights about the planet’s formation and evolution

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New cloaking devices could hide objects from water waves and currents

Specially designed materials could help prevent boats from rocking too violently in harbors, researchers say.

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The first chlamydia vaccine has passed a major test

A clinical trial for a vaccine against the sexually transmitted disease found that the product provoked an immune response.

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Astronomers just quintupled the number of known repeating fast radio bursts

A Canadian telescope spotted eight more repeating fast radio bursts. What causes these cryptic flashes of radio waves from deep space remains unclear.

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A planetary body may have smashed into Jupiter, creating its weird core

A planetary body smashing into Jupiter may have jostled the gas giant’s insides during its formative years, creating the strange interior seen today.

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CRISPR enters its first human clinical trials

The gene editor will be used in lab dishes in cancer and blood disorder trials, and to directly edit a gene in human eyes in a blindness therapy test.

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Engraved bones reveal that symbolism had ancient roots in East Asia

Denisovans might have etched line patterns on two animal bone fragments more than 100,000 years ago in what’s now northern China.

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A mussel poop diet could fuel invasive carp’s spread across Lake Michigan

Asian carp, just a human-made waterway away from reaching Lake Michigan, could live in much more of the lake than previously thought.

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Two of four Ebola treatments prove highly effective in a clinical trial

An Ebola field trial in Congo is shifting its focus toward treatments that preliminary data suggest can help prevent death from the disease.

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Even without concussions, just one football season may damage players’ brains

A group of college football players underwent brain scans after a season of play. The results suggest the sport could impact neural signaling.

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Plants don’t have feelings and aren’t conscious, a biologist argues

The rise of the field of “plant neurobiology” has this scientist and his colleagues pushing back.

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A proposed space telescope would use Earth’s atmosphere as a lens

One astronomer has a bold solution to the high cost of building big telescopes.

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Are researchers asking the right questions to prevent mass shootings?

Understanding how to thwart these violent events may be more effective than analyzing perpetrators’ backgrounds.

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Exploding stars scattered traces of iron over Antarctic snow

Researchers melted half a ton of snow to find just 10 atoms of a radioactive variety of iron.

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How these tiny insect larvae leap without legs

High-speed filming reveals how a blob of an insect can leap more efficiently than it crawls.

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The worst wildfires can send smoke high enough to affect the ozone layer

The first direct observations of wildfire smoke in the stratosphere confirm what could happen in a “nuclear winter,” a study finds.

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50 years ago, Fermilab turned to bubbles

The National Accelerator Laboratory, now called Fermilab, used to have a bubble chamber to study particles. Today, most bubble chambers have gone flat.

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One in 4 people live in places at high risk of running out of water

An update to the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas reveals that 17 countries withdraw more than 80 percent of water available yearly.

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Mercury levels in fish are rising despite reduced emissions

Climate change and overfishing can increase how much mercury accumulates in fish, counteracting efforts to reduce human-caused emissions.

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Why people with celiac disease suffer so soon after eating gluten

In people with celiac disease, some T cells release immune chemicals within hours of encountering gluten, triggering the fast onset of symptoms.

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Giant, active galaxies from the early universe may have finally been found

Overlooked galaxies from when the universe was younger than 2 billion years old could be the ancestors of other ancient and modern monster galaxies.

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Readers respond to Lyme disease, fossil teeth and a Tesseract look-alike

Readers had questions and comments on Lyme disease prevention, speciation, and a mysterious uranium cube.

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Why this warmer world is not just a passing phase

Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses climate change and the uncertainty of science.

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How pieces of live human brain are helping scientists map nerve cells

Experiments on live nerve cells — donated from patients undergoing brain surgery — may turn up clues about how the human brain works.

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Racist words and acts, like the El Paso shooting, harm children’s health

Racism can take a lifelong toll on children’s and adolescents’ health. U.S. pediatricians are tackling the problem.

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A fungus makes a chemical that neutralizes the stench of skunk spray

A compound produced by fungi reacts with skunk spray to form residues that aren’t offensive to the nose and can be more easily washed away.

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With nowhere to hide from rising seas, Boston prepares for a wetter future

Boston has armed itself with a science-driven master plan to protect itself from increasingly inevitable storm surges and rising seas.

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How the 5 riskiest U.S. cities for coastal flooding are preparing for rising tides

The five U.S. cities most at risk of coastal flooding from rising sea levels are in various stages of preparedness.

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Ancient Maya warfare flared up surprisingly early

Extreme conflicts broke out well before the decline of the Maya civilization, researchers say.

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A new map is the best view yet of how fast Antarctica is shedding ice

Stitching together data from several satellite missions allowed scientists to create the most comprehensive map of Antarctic ice flow ever.

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Decades of dumping acid suggest acid rain may make trees thirstier

Acidified soil loses calcium, which can affect trees’ ability to hang on to water.

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Satellites are transforming how archaeologists study the past

In ‘Archaeology from Space,’ Sarah Parcak takes readers on a lively tour of the past, and archaeology of the 21st century.

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The Arctic is burning and Greenland is melting, thanks to record heat

A heat wave is melting Greenland’s ice and fueling blazes across the Arctic that are pumping record amounts of carbon dioxide into the air.

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Hospitalizations highlight potential dangers of e-cigs to teens’ lungs

E-cigarette use can harm the lungs, and eight Wisconsin teens who developed severe lung injuries after vaping may be the latest victims.

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Readers inquire about measles, vaccine hesitancy and more

Readers had questions about vaccine-hesitant parents, measles and DNA sequencing.

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You’re only as old as you perceive yourself to be

Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses how people’s attitudes about aging can impact our physical health.

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Public trust that scientists work for the good of society is growing

More Americans trust the motives of scientists than of journalists or politicians.

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Stars may keep spinning fast, long into old age

NASA’s TESS telescope has spotted an old star that spins too fast for theory to explain, suggesting that stars may have a magnetic midlife crisis.

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A 3-D map of stars reveals the Milky Way’s warped shape

Our galaxy flaunts its curves in a chart of thousands of stars called Cepheids.

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There’s more to pufferfish than that goofy spiked balloon

Three odd things about pufferfishes: how they mate, how they bite and what’s up with no fish scales?

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Scientists seek materials that defy friction at the atomic level

Scientists investigate superslippery materials and other unusual friction feats.

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