Science News

Editor in Chief Nancy Shute reviews new research in static electricity and other science revelations in our September magazine issue.

Scientists used fiber-optic cables to turn “thunderquakes” into underground maps that could help reveal hidden hazards beneath cities.

Bacteria may build a memory of herbivore attack in the soil and coax new plants to attract wasps to rein in destructive pests.

Solve the crossword from our September 2026 issue, in which we celebrate some creature features.

A sound wave–based therapy commonly used to dislodge kidney stones is gaining traction as a treatment for erectile dysfunction.

The Epstein-Barr virus has taken a huge toll on global health. Understanding how it works could offer ways to combat multiple sclerosis, cancer and more.

A study of 143 piercing tools, from tusks to love darts, finds they trade off piercing ability for durability. And no one shape wins out.

In fall of 2025, the Trump administration touted the drug leucovorin for autism therapy without new evidence. Dispensing of the drug to kids rose.

Scientists are largely clueless about the origins of static electricity. A quirky group of researchers aims to change that.

The thrilling National Geographic series, premiering August 19, follows Kio from lion cub to king.

The star passes very close to the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole and could reveal the black hole’s spin by tracking how it warps the star’s orbit.

In early trials, a new vaccine that didn’t require refrigeration still protected against tetanus and diphtheria.

Long-clawed shrews’ snouts temporarily grow larger in the winter. This skull reshaping may be an extreme survival strategy in cold conditions.

In 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' Peter Parker devises a superpower inhibitor based on a real therapy using RNA.

Snails have five distinct types of mucus, each with its own job. The mollusks tweak calcium secretions to get the chemical mixture just right.

A recent shot of the COVID-19 vaccine doubled survival time in glioblastoma patients who had undergone tumor biopsy or surgery.

Animals searching for water brought the forest to the city, perhaps sparking Brazil’s first yellow fever outbreak in decades.

Necrotizing enterocolitis strikes premature babies with almost no warning. A new approach aims to detect it early with a quick, low-risk scan.

In fiction, photographic memories crack the case or save the day. But our brains can’t hold on to everything — and that’s a good thing.

Gluons do more than hold protons together. They may also help define the proton’s identity through a quantum property called baryon number.