Technology

In recent weeks, extreme heat waves have broiled the United States, China and Europe. But scientists are warning of another hazardous form of heat: chronic heat. In places like Miami and Phoenix, temperatures can soar for months…

An unassuming lichen harbors a hidden superpower: It’s remarkably resistant to ultraviolet radiation. New experiments on the hardy organism call into question the long-held belief that alien planets bathed in ultraviolet light…

Tucked inside mochi, swirled into moon cakes or layered beneath custard in taiyaki, a sweet paste made from red beans is a beloved staple in East Asia. Despite its popularity, the origins of the bean (also known as adzuki) have…

A remote outcrop in Canada harbors rocks that are at least 4.16 billion years old, researchers report June 26 in Science. If true, these rocks would be the oldest known on Earth and the first to date to the planet’s earliest and…

Parents will fret, even among bugs. And even among bugs, it’s complicated. Ferociously protective parenting has evolved four times among the pointy-faced, wide-bodied little leaf dwellers called shield bugs, researchers report…

The feelings, emotions and behaviors of people who lived in the past don’t leave a fossil record. But cultural artifacts, such as paintings, novels, music and other art forms, do. Now, researchers are developing tools to mine…

For the first time ever, the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered an exoplanet by directly imaging it. The newfound world has a mass roughly similar to Saturn and orbits inside the debris disk surrounding a young star…

Special quantum states allow computers to perform the most difficult class of quantum computing operations.

About three quarters of babies born in the United States may not have enough friendly microbes in their guts to protect against developing allergies, asthma and eczema, a new study suggests. In a large study of more than 400…

"We are very proud and emotional," says Shambhu Dayal Shukla, father of Astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as his son became the second Indian to journey into space. Shubhanshu Shukla with other astronauts on Crew Dragon. (Inset)…

Receiving a sample collection kit by mail helped people who were behind on cervical cancer screening take part in this regular checkup. A clinical trial assessed whether mailing kits to take a cell sample from the vagina at…

It’s the shot every squash player dreads and dreams of. In the sport, players take turns hitting a squishy ball off four walls, trying to return it before it bounces twice. But when a perfect “nick shot” is executed, the ball…

Questions or comments on this article? E-mail us at feedback@sciencenews.org | Reprints FAQ Citations Y. Zhuang et al. Cretaceous entomopathogenic fungi illuminate the early evolution of insect–fungal associations.…

A brush with kelp may help some killer whales clean up nicely. A group of killer whales (Orcinus orca ater) residing in the Salish Sea off the coast of British Columbia and Washington tear short stalks of bull kelp…

Dealing with plastic waste is a real headache. But with a little help, bacteria can turn plastic into a painkiller. Genetically engineered Escherichia coli bacteria converted a broken-down plastic bottle into the active…

The Proba-3 spacecraft succeed at creating solar eclipses, kicking off a two-year mission to study the sun’s mysterious outer atmosphere, the corona.

McKenzie Prillaman is a science and health journalist based in Washington, DC. She holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in science communication from the University of…

Hunting hints An ancient ambush of wild horses at a German archaeological site called Schöningen around 300,000 years ago suggests that communal hunting, along with complex social and mental skills, evolved much earlier in…

Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses which should scare you more: sharks or ticks and fungus — and why sharks might actually be the least of your worries.

One June 20, 1975, a fictional great white shark stalked beachgoers on Amity Island — and struck terror into moviegoers around the world. Jaws, based on Peter Benchley’s best-selling novel, was a blockbuster. Its portrayal of…

Tiny, newly formed tumors shed small fragments of DNA that are swept into the bloodstream. Future cancer screening tests could detect them early.

Nutrition experts say add more greens and beans to your diet; cooking classes can teach people to make these nutrient-dense foods taste delicious.

Aaron Tremper is the editorial assistant for Science News Explores. He has a B.A. in English (with minors in creative writing and film production) from SUNY New Paltz and an M.A. in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate…

One kind of Australian moth looks to the stars on its voyage to a summertime refuge. Stellar cues from the Milky Way’s bright band may help Bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) chart a path from the sizzling plains of southeastern…

Since Jaws was released 50 years ago, great white sharks have, arguably, become the most recognized fish in the ocean. But despite their fame, they’re not the biggest shark species. The largest shark alive today, the…

The symphony of summer is under way: Lawn mowers droning, cicadas buzzing, kids shrieking, outdoor concerts and cracking fireworks. Summer’s delights often reach us through our ears. But protecting our hearing is often an…

Court ruling allows interim nuclear waste storage in Texas, but the U.S. still has no long-term plan for its 90,000 metric tons of spent fuel.

Meet the new face, and braincase to boot, of Asia’s mysterious Stone Age denizens, the Denisovans. The nearly complete, roughly 146,000-year-old skull of an adult male was found nearly a century ago, possibly during bridge…

Will Nediger, a crossword constructor and Ph.D. in linguistics, edited this puzzle. Looking for answers? Go to sciencenews.org/puzzle-answers. We’d love to hear your thoughts. Email us at puzzles@sciencenews.org.

The cosmos has once again thrown humanity into a whirlwind of questions, and this time, the answers may be scarier than we imagined. In a jaw-dropping revelation, scientists studying data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have…