Life in all of its complexity
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute talks about life’s complexities, from its evolution on Earth as a single cell to complex human behavior.
Category: Science
Water Droplet Science
NASA astronaut Don Pettit demonstrates electrostatic forces using charged water droplets and a knitting needle made of Teflon.
What’s the fastest a human can grow?
Humans grow tall in spurts, but what’s our fastest period of growth?
Scientists spot ‘unprecedented celestial event’ around the ‘Eye of Sauron’ star just 25 light-years from Earth
Scientists watching the nearby Fomalhaut star system have directly seen two protoplanets smash together for the first time. Then, they saw it happen again.
New ultraviolet image of comet 3I/ATLAS could help reveal what it’s made of
NASA’s alien-hunting Europa Clipper spacecraft took seven hours of ultraviolet observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS while both objects zoom toward Jupiter.
Breaking Ground Crossword
Solve the crossword from our January 2026 issue, in which we take a crack at geological principles
AI is solving ‘impossible’ math problems. Can it best the world’s top mathematicians?
AI is making gains in solving pure math problems. Can it crack the hardest problems in mathematics?
Ursid meteor shower 2025: When and where to see ‘shooting stars’ on the longest night of the year
Here’s how to see the Ursid meteor shower, which peaks in dark skies close to a new moon this year.
Comet 3I/ATLAS reaches closest point to Earth: How to see it on Friday night
Comet 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object ever detected, reached its closest point to Earth overnight from Thursday to Friday (Dec. 18 to 19), and it
Scientists Propose Plans for World’s Largest Particle Smasher
The world’s current largest collider was instrumental in discovering a new, elusive subatomic particle in 2012.
Scientists Create Superman-Like Eye Lasers
The new lasers are ‘some of the world’s smallest and lightest.’
An asteroid could hit the moon in 2032, scattering debris toward Earth
Researchers are keeping an eye on the building-sized asteroid 2024 YR4, which has a 4 percent chance of hitting the moon seven years from now.
He made beer that’s also a vaccine. Now controversy is brewing
An NIH scientist’s maverick approach reveals legal, ethical, moral, scientific and social challenges to developing potentially life-saving vaccines.
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is rapidly moving away from us. Can we ‘intercept’ it before it leaves us forever?
3I/ATLAS has passed its closest point to Earth, meaning we will soon lose sight of it for good. Some scientists want to send a spacecraft