All Stories

  1. Pieces of soap made from plastic waste are displayed against a blue background. The soap has the color and reflectiveness of beeswax and is cut in various shapes, including a star, a moon and playing card suits.
    Chemistry

    Chemists turned plastic waste into tiny bars of soap

    Researchers developed a process to turn plastic waste into surfactants, the key ingredients in dozens of products, including soap.

    By Luis Melecio-Zambrano
  2. illustration of a person wearing pajamas flying through the air with blue a pink hues
    Neuroscience

    Here’s what lucid dreamers might tell us about our sleeping minds

    Lucid dreaming could prove to be a powerful tool for probing dreams, one of the most universal yet elusive human experiences.

    By Maria Temming
  3. vaccine
    Health & Medicine

    What to know about the new RSV vaccine for pregnant people

    Data on the FDA-approved Pfizer vaccine are promising. Questions about safety and how it might be used in conjunction with another new RSV shot remain.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  4. A photo of two Indigenous youth skinning a moose as part of a hunting camp in Alberta, Canada.
    Psychology

    An apology to Indigenous communities sparks a mental health rethink

    The leading U.S. psychological association pledged to embrace Indigenous approaches to healing, which requires rethinking how to address mental health.

    By Sujata Gupta
  5. Conventional thermal vision depicts this nighttime scene of a forest road in ghostly grays (top). A new AI-aided technology takes thermal data and creates a sharper image (bottom). The system adds color based on the objects detected, shading water blue, for example.
    Artificial Intelligence

    How artificial intelligence sharpens blurry thermal vision images

    A thermal imaging technique uses a special camera and AI to create clear images and accurately gauge distances of objects, even in pitch-blackness

    By Luis Melecio-Zambrano
  6. Two emperor penguin chicks stand on the ice. One has buried his head in his soft fur, while the other appears to be nodding off.
    Climate

    Emperor penguins lost thousands of chicks to melting ice last year

    In 2022, groups of emperor penguins in western Antarctica lost almost all their chicks to receding sea ice, signaling the threat of climate change.

    By Luis Melecio-Zambrano
  7. A photo of wind turbines in a grassy area with power lines nearby.
    Climate

    How one device could help transform our power grid

    As coal-fired power plants are retired, grid-forming inverters may be key to a future that relies on solar and wind power.

    By Alexandra Witze
  8. At the Integrated Command Control Centre in Varanasi, India, people look on as the country’s Chandrayaan-3 mission approaches the surface of the moon on August 23.
    Space

    India’s successful moon landing follows recent failures by other countries

    The Chandrayaan-3 mission delivered a lander and rover to the moon. Attempts by other countries this year show that getting there is still a challenge.

    By Katherine Kornei
  9. Illustration of a hand wearing a blue medical glove placing the final piece in a square puzzle that shows the letter Y.
    Genetics

    The Y chromosome’s genetic puzzle is finally complete

    New analyses of the human Y chromosome reveal millions of new bases and different locations for the same gene in different people.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  10. photo of large leaves from a tropical plant taken from below the forest canopy
    Climate

    Some leaves in tropical forests may be getting too hot for photosynthesis

    Climate change may be forcing some tropical leaves to stop photosynthesis and die. It’s still unclear what effect this will have on entire forests.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  11. A photo of an excavated section of a platform at a pre-Inca site in Peru.
    Archaeology

    Pre-Inca people stomped salutes to their thunder god on a special dance floor

    Excavation of a drumlike platform in the Andes turned up a structure seemingly designed to absorb shocks and emit resonant sounds when stomped upon.

    By Bruce Bower
  12. An illustration of COVID-19 particles
    Health & Medicine

    Health risks can persist at least 2 years after COVID-19, new data suggest

    U.S. veterans who tested positive for COVID-19 in 2020 remain at higher risk for many long COVID conditions, from heart disease to gastrointestinal issues.

    By Betsy Ladyzhets