Science News Explores
Science News Explores is for readers of any age, from middle school on up. linktr.ee/sn.explores See also @sciencenews.bsky.social 🧪
- "There is no option of ‘lion’ on Duolingo.” So scientists had to turn to machine learning. snexplores.org/article/lion-new-se…
- Ice arenas and artificial snow now dominate winter games. Are athletes training differently? snexplores.org/article/warmer-wint…
- Scientists used the tools of paleontology to answer a modern-day question: Who made Chicago’s “Rat Hole”? snexplores.org/article/chicago-rat…
- A Japanese flower emits a grisly scent — that of injured ants — to trick flies into pollinating it. snexplores.org/article/flower-smel…
- There’s a reason funny fail accounts are so popular. In a word: schadenfreude. snexplores.org/article/malicious-j…
- A study with more than 10,000 participants showed people learn more deeply when they Google rather than asking ChatGPT. snexplores.org/article/chatbots-sh…
- Is it possible to be invisible? Some animals have a clear answer. snexplores.org/article/how-person-…
- In the final moments of Yuka the woolly mammoth’s life, he may have been trying to outsprint a cave lion. That’s what RNA molecules recovered from his tissues suggest. snexplores.org/article/oldest-rna-…
- "Energy can never disappear nor appear. You can't make it and you can't destroy it!" Here's what really happens to energy. snexplores.org/article/conservatio…
- Wild animals may look as though they’re thriving at nuclear sites, but their genes can tell a different story. snexplores.org/article/radioactive…
- Participants were buried face-down under 50 centimeters — about a foot and a half — of snow at a field site in northern Italy. snexplores.org/article/snow-avalan…
- A pottery class inspired a new way of decorating tiny particles of gold. snexplores.org/article/gold-nanopa…
- Ammolite gems are some pretty fabulous fossils. Their rainbow flair comes from nanoscale features in their crystal plates. snexplores.org/article/ammolite-ge…
- Katie Mack’s grandfather served as a meteorologist on the Apollo 11 mission. That inspired this cosmologist to pursue a career studying the cosmos. snexplores.org/article/cosmologist…
- Who belongs in science? Anyone! Everyone. Meet three researchers who are reaching out and expanding the possibilities of what science can be. snexplores.org/article/science-cul…
- Chopping onions can be tear-free? Try this technique. snexplores.org/article/slow-sharp-…
- Fish build organized nest neighborhoods in Earth’s most frigid waters. snexplores.org/article/antarctic-f…
- Ice doesn’t need heat or pressure to melt and become slippery. After 200 years, scientists finally figured out why. snexplores.org/article/why-ice-is-…
- A tiny tyrannosaur had been thought to be a young T. rex. It now turns out to be its own new species. snexplores.org/article/fossil-new-…
- Villains in fiction may be able to use hypnosis to brainwash people into doing their bidding. In real life, hypnosis may help people conquer pain and anxiety. snexplores.org/article/hypnosis-br…
- Looking at the data from almost 30,000 school-age children, researchers linked lower air pollution to a less nearsightedness. snexplores.org/article/air-polluti…
- Thanks to elaborate coordination between muscle and breath, woodpeckers can hammer at a perfectly consistent rate for an extended period of time. snexplores.org/article/woodpeckers…
- A fake-it-till-you-make-it approach can boost performance as you work toward your goals. snexplores.org/article/how-to-set-…
- This year, instead of setting goals for the new year, try the opposite: Quit something. snexplores.org/article/quit-to-rea…
- A new side view of the Milky Way will help astronomers better understand what is happening inside our fairly flat, spiral galaxy. snexplores.org/article/milky-way-r…
- Flavor isn’t just on your tongue—it’s in your brain. Scans show that a part deep in the brain fuses taste and smell into flavor. snexplores.org/article/brain-combi…
- Books and movies often portray asteroid run-ins as unstoppable events. But “this is the one natural disaster we can totally prevent.” snexplores.org/article/what-chance…
- In Life (Re)Sounding, game designer Susannah Emery draws from her own experiences as a neurodivergent person. snexplores.org/article/game-design…
- Polar bears provide 7.6 million kilograms of food to Arctic’s wildlife. snexplores.org/article/polar-bears…
- Last year, four-fifths of all warm-water corals bleached severely due to relentless heat waves in Earth’s seas. These corals have reached a point of no return, scientists now report. snexplores.org/article/coral-death…
- Flamingoes create underwater whirlpools to fill their almost bottomless stomachs. snexplores.org/article/flamingos-m…
- Real animals glow red to see in dark and murky places, just like Rudolph. snexplores.org/article/rudolph-red…
- A new type of parachute is full of holes — by design. It could allow precise, inexpensive cargo delivery or aid drops. snexplores.org/article/kirigami-pa…
- Such technology may one day treat infertility for women who no longer have eggs because of age, early menopause or previous cancer treatments. snexplores.org/article/human-eggs-…
- A first-time contestant of the Nikon Small World photomicrography contest won this year’s competition with a close-up shot of a rice weevil. snexplores.org/article/award-winni…
- From furious firestorms to gently burning swirls, this recently discovered flame may clean oil spills and more. This week’s word is blue whirl. snexplores.org/article/scientists-…
- Don't try this at home. Researchers turned milk into traditional yogurts with help from ants. For science. snexplores.org/article/ants-bacter…
- A tiny elephant establishes a new stomping ground for 3-D printing: inside living cells. snexplores.org/article/3-d-printin…
- Cosmic forecast: Cloudy with a chance of galactic fountains! snexplores.org/article/high-veloci…
- To “hear,” this microphone uses light. That means it works even through soundproof glass. snexplores.org/article/visual-micr…
- Strong memories capture weak memories that we’d otherwise forget. snexplores.org/article/emotion-mem…
- Kleptotrichy: When plucky little birds raid a mammal’s backside for fur to line their nests. snexplores.org/article/scientists-…
- Can dogs sort toys based on how they play with them? Yes, researchers say, some do. snexplores.org/article/gifted-dogs…
- Researchers turned to a citizen science project to better understand how light pollution affects singing time in birds. snexplores.org/article/birds-singi…
- ChatGPT “is designed less to help you than it is to keep you engaged,” says Amanda Guinzburg. Read about her eerie experience with the bot, and how to avoid common AI pitfalls. snexplores.org/article/5-things-ta…
- Are plants intelligent? averyhurt.bsky.social explores this question in a Science News Explores story that won a Gold Award in the 2025 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards. snexplores.org/article/plants-inte…
- A simple shape-up anchors these pimple patches in place. And the change might launch new lines of shot-free options for injectable drugs. snexplores.org/article/a-little-sh…
- People use glue guns to fix lots of things. Now researchers have modified one to help fix broken bones. snexplores.org/article/glue-gun-he…
- When a perigee and full moon collide, this bold, beautiful lunar event can rise. This week’s word is supermoon. snexplores.org/article/scientists-…
