All Stories

Health & Medicine

RNA work that led to COVID-19 vaccines wins 2023 Nobel in medicine

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman overcame hurdles to using mRNA for medicine. This led to COVID vaccines — and maybe, one day, some for other infections.

Math

Scientists Say: Imaginary Number

These numbers may not be “real,” but they sure aren’t make-believe.

Brain

Neuroscientists decoded a song from brain activity

The technique could help improve communication devices for people who are unable to speak.

Animals

This massive ancient whale may be the heaviest animal ever known

Called Perucetus colossus, it may have tipped the scales at up to 340 metric tons — more than today’s blue whales.

Psychology

Spending time in green spaces can provide big health benefits

Walking through a park or playing in a yard can make you feel better, both mentally and physically. Here’s how — and evidence it works for people at any age.

Animals

This egg-eater may have the biggest gulp of any snake its size

Slither aside, Burmese pythons. This little African snake has a truly outsized swallow.

Archaeology

Let’s learn about Stonehenge

Questions remain about exactly who built Stonehenge and why. But some details are known about the site’s origins.

Brain

A rat’s playfulness relies on cells in one part of its brain

Certain cells here control its behavior. Studying this circuitry could also help us understand depression in people.

Chemistry

Scientists Say: Rare earth element

Rare earth elements aren’t all that rare — but skyrocketing demand for these metals makes them precious.

Animals

A new technique creates glowing whole-body maps of mice

Removing cholesterol from mouse bodies lets fluorescent proteins seep into every tissue. That has helped researchers map entire body parts.

Agriculture

Crops are being engineered to thrive in our changing climate

Plants are already the best carbon catchers on Earth. New research could make them even better.

Animals

Toothed whales use their noses to whistle and click

Much as people do, toothed whales, such as dolphins and sperm whales, make noises in three different vocal registers.