Tight budgets drain mental focus and make healthy food harder to afford

Popular teens ended up more socially anxious by 25, study finds

At 15, being in demand and being close to someone can look like the same kind of social success.

By Graeme Brown · Nov 9, 2026

People who reject science are most overconfident about their knowledge

In a 2022 Science Advances study, the people most opposed to the scientific consensus tended to be the most overconfident about their science knowledge, and it cost them when they bet on beating the average.

By Graeme Brown · Nov 4, 2026

More money keeps helping well-being, but each gain gets smaller

Every spring, the same headline goes around the world: Finland is the happiest country on Earth.

By Nato Lagidze · Oct 30, 2026

Dogs look longer at a round shape for 'bouba' and a spiky one for 'kiki', study of 70 dogs finds

Pet dogs spent more time looking at a round shape when they heard 'bouba' and at a spiky one for 'kiki', though the difference was about one second per trial.

By Sanchana Charles · Oct 29, 2026

Jumping spiders show REM-like sleep and make up for a disturbed night, study finds

A jumping spider showed regular REM-like bouts and, after one night of fly disturbance, spent about 80% more time in them, though the study used only 13 spiders and tracked behaviour, not brain activity.

By Sanchana Charles · Oct 29, 2026

A doctor cracked one hand’s knuckles for 50 years. Neither hand got arthritis.

Donald Unger’s one-man experiment answered a family warning. Larger studies have since tested it properly, and the answer they found is more careful than “cracking is harmless.”

By Jenny Olalo · Oct 29, 2026

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Health

Medicine, public health, and the research that shapes how we stay well.

Releasing mosquitoes on purpose cut dengue in Singapore, but the headline number is an estimate

By Sanchana Charles

Mosquito traps cut eggs by 70%, but impact on disease remains unclear

By Sanchana Charles

Wisconsin study finds childhood fluoridated water not linked to IQ or thinking skills

By Graeme Brown

Phoenix's deadly heat didn't need extreme humidity to threaten elderly residents

By Graeme Brown

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Brain & Behavior

Neuroscience, psychology, and the science of how we think and act.

Closeness to cats lifts mood more than years of living together

By Kiran Journals

Sleep speeds up amyloid clearing in mice, but two studies sharply disagree on how much

By Justin Brown

Swapping one gene made mice better at forming habits, though not at talking

By Sanchana Charles

Loneliness linked to faster cognitive decline in older adults

By Chris Jeremia

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Technology

Engineering, computing, and the tools reshaping daily life.

Teen built $12 ocean-current probe and won America's top young scientist prize

By Justin Brown

17-year-old built a $100 earthquake detector that warns LA seconds before shaking hits

By Ainura Kalau

Concrete made with crushed glass bottles gets stronger than normal, slower to peak

By Ainura Kalau

Arizona's rubber highway coating cuts freeway noise by 11 decibels

By Ainura Kalau

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Earth & Environment

Climate, energy, ecology, and the systems that keep the planet running.

Rotational grazing boosts soil organic matter, but carbon benefits remain unproven

By Justin Brown

Thames fish species rebounded from zero to over 115 since declared biologically dead

By Justin Brown

California releases first beavers in 75 years to restore watersheds

By Justin Brown

No-till farming raised corn returns by $34 to $93 an acre over three decades

By Justin Brown

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Life

Biology, animals, plants, and life beyond the human story.

Hurricane Andrew unleashed an invasive python population that now numbers in the tens of thousands

By Kiran Journals

Wild elephants gesture deliberately to communicate with rivals

By Sanchana Charles

Detached bee stinger keeps pumping venom like a double-piston pump

By Jenny Olalo

Large dogs lose genetic brakes on jumping genes faster, study finds

By Sanchana Charles

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Space

Planets, astronomy, and exploration beyond Earth.

Space

17-year-old intern discovers planet orbiting two stars in first week at NASA

By Ainura Kalau

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Social Sciences

Society, culture, and the science of how we live together.

Jury awards biologist $6 million in defamation case, verdict expected to face appeal

By Justin Brown

Cleaning vacant lots reduced gun violence nearly 29 percent in Philadelphia's poorest neighborhoods

By Sanchana Charles

Chicago program slashes violent-crime arrests by nearly half among boys

By Sanchana Charles