SCIENCE
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Scientists Map Nightlife and Communication of NYC Rats to Help Urban Planning and Pest Control
Here in New York City, we humans crown ourselves rulers of the five boroughs—but the kingdom is split. We cohabit with a parallel society that commutes along subway rails, picnics in parks and patronizes trash cans like they’re Restaurant Row. A new field study watched them the way New Yorkers often watch each other: from a respectful distance and with…
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Atlantic Hurricane Season Has Gone Quiet. Here’s Why
September 10, 2025 3 min read At the Peak of Hurricane Season, the Atlantic Is Quiet. Here’s Why Hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin is historically at its peak on September 10—but not this year By Meghan Bartels edited by Andrea Thompson In May, as Atlantic hurricane season loomed, meteorologists worried that above-average tropical activity, combined with cuts to the…
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Survey Results Show People Prefer More Human Involvement in AI-driven Art
Think of your favorite piece of art—a painting, a song, a novel, a movie or even a video game—and try to remember why it made such a strong impression on you. Was it the color, the cadence of notes, the way the writer made you feel understood, the deep emotion of the actors? Now imagine that artificial intelligence created it.…
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Bacteria in Spacecraft Clean Rooms Can Go Dormant, Evading Death
September 4, 2025 3 min read This Sneaky Spacecraft Bacteria Can Play Dead to Survive A type of bacteria found in clean rooms has an unexpected method of survival, with implications for planetary protection By Stephanie Pappas edited by Clara Moskowitz NASA’s Curiosity rover is prepared for launch in the clean room at the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA’s Jet…
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Chimps, Humans and Macaques All Have a Drive to ‘People Watch’
September 1, 2025 2 min read The Primal Pull of People Watching Our social voyeurism may have deep evolutionary roots By Clarissa Brincat edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Whitworth Images/Getty Images The human fascination with watching others—whether through reality TV, Instagram stories or overheard drama—is often dismissed as nosiness. But new research suggests this impulse may be a social survival…
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How Key Changes to the Pelvis Helped Humans Walk Upright
August 29, 2025 3 min read How Humans Became Upright: Key Changes to Our Pelvis Found Genetic and anatomical data reveal how the human pelvis acquired its unique shape, enabling our ancestors to walk on two legs By Katie Kavanagh & Nature magazine Humans have been walking on two legs for millions of years. Nick Veasey/Science Source All vertebrate species…
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Microplastics Could Be Creating Dangerous Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
August 26, 2025 4 min read Microplastics Could Be Turning Bacteria into Drug-Resistant Superbugs Microplastics are seemingly everywhere—and now growing research suggests they could be breeding grounds for drug-resistant bacteria By Marta Zaraska edited by Lauren J. Young MargJohnsonVA/Getty Images For bacteria, microplastics are the perfect meetup spot—tiny, intimate surfaces where microbes can cling, huddle close and swap genes. And…
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The Brain’s Map of the Body Is Surprisingly Stable—Even after a Limb Is Lost
August 23, 2025 3 min read The Brain’s Map of the Body Is Surprisingly Stable—Even after a Limb Is Lost The brain’s body map doesn’t reorganize itself after limb amputation, a study found, challenging a textbook idea in neuroscience By Katie Kavanagh & Nature magazine The brain’s map of the body in the primary somatosensory cortex remains unchanged after amputation.…
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Tiny Probes Can Surf Sunlight to Explore Earth’s Mesosphere and Mars
August 19, 2025 4 min read These Tiny Disks Will Sail on Sunlight into Earth’s Mysterious ‘Ignorosphere’ With no fuel or engines, tiny explorers will surf sun-warmed air alone to explore high in the skies of Earth and Mars By Payal Dhar edited by Lee Billings This artist’s impression shows multiple small devices soaring on sunlight at the edges of…
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Human Embryo Implantation Revealed in First-Ever 3D Images
August 15, 2025 3 min read First 3D Images of Human Embryo Implantation Reveal New Details of the Process Analyzing embryo movements in uteruslike environments could offer clues to improving the success rate of in vitro fertilization By Humberto Basilio edited by Lauren J. Young Confocal microscopy image of a nine-day-old human embryo. Specific proteins and cellular structures have been…
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