Science

Science’s COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation.

Around 3200 B.C.E., Stone Age farmers in Wales’s Preseli Hills built a great monument: They carved columns of unspotted dolerite, or bluestone, from a nearby quarry, then thrust them upright in a great circle aligned with the Sun. Exactly what the circle meant to them remains a mystery. But new […]

Three-year-old Minnie is a serial killer. Like many domestic cats, the female tabby often sneaks out at night to hunt and brings back her prey. “We’ve had birds in the bedroom, rats in the paper bin, rabbits in the utility room, and several vermin that have died of fright,” says […]

After returning home from college to northwest Cameroon in 2004, Tabi Joda felt a sense of profound loss. Trees that once bore fruit, provided medicine, and created shade had been cut down. Rich soils had turned to dust. “The land I used to know as a forest was no longer […]

Almost 700 years ago, Jacob van Maerlant, a Dutch poet, envisioned a fish all set for life on land: It had sprouted arms to hoist itself ashore. Now, three genetic studies make his fantasy look remarkably prescient. Together, the studies suggest that in terms of genes, the aquatic precursors of […]

After a half-year journey, China’s Tianwen-1 robotic spacecraft—the country’s first interplanetary mission—today successfully entered orbit around Mars, the China National Space Administration confirmed. The arrival was first reported by amateur radio signal observers, as China declined to provide real-time coverage of the attempt.

In 2018, a new species of centipede graced the pages of the prominent taxonomy journal Zootaxa. More than 14 centimeters long, with striking teal-colored legs, it lives in the montane and mossy forests of the Philippines. Now, however, the centipede is in a harsh spotlight. The Philippine government says the […]

Sister André has recovered from COVID-19 in time for her 117th birthday this week.

Sister André has recovered from COVID-19 in time for her 117th birthday this week.