Exercise & Weight Loss
Intense exercisers may burn no more calories per day than people who don’t exercise regularly.
Hares & Climate Change
Snowshoe hares can’t help turning white in winter, even though climate change is delaying the first snowfall, making them easy prey.
Magnetic Gels Fix Muscles
A muscle-repairing implant may suppress inflammation and grow new tissue.
Casino Rats
Studying how rats respond to the same cues that encourage people to make unwise bets could lead to better treatments for problem gambling.
Habit Forming Brain Cells
Neuroscientists report on some brain circuits that are habit forming.
New Elements
The discovery of four new short-lived elements may be bringing scientists closer to creating new heavy elements with staying power.
Arthropods Among Us
Researchers attempt to inventory all of the insects and other creepy crawlies in people’s homes for the first time.
Caffeine Eating Microbes
A major coffee pest consumes otherwise lethal doses of caffeine with help from a few of its friends.
Social Health
How do social relationships affect our biochemistry and health?
Baby Tooth Cavities
Baby teeth fall out eventually. But that doesn't mean cavities in baby teeth should be ignored.
Light & Energy Roundup
Engineers demonstrate a new way to harvest the wasted energy of an incandescent light bulb.
Moonlit Migrations
Zooplankton in the Arctic Ocean migrate by the light of the moon.
Bullying & Social Networks
Enlisting the help of influential students to reduce bullying and other conflict in schools.
Neanderthal Inheritance
Did modern humans inherit allergies from Neanderthals?
Reversing Blindness in India
A project that restores sight to blind people in India is highlighting the resiliency of the human brain.
Medical Roundup
Slowing Alzheimer’s disease by cleansing the brain of toxic proteins; also, new findings on a sweet-tooth hormone.
Bee Maps
A first-ever national bee map reveals where native bees are most in need of help.
Nesting Dogs
A listener asks why dogs sometimes turn around in circles before lying down.
Adjustable Nerve Block
A high-tech injectable drug delivery system will allow patients to control their pain relief with near-infrared light.
Top Science Breakthrough of 2015: CRISPR Gene Editing
The top Science Breakthrough of the Year: A low-cost genetic engineering technique is creating both excitement and concern.
Science Breakthroughs of 2015: Kennewick Man’s DNA
Science Breakthroughs of 2015: Kennewick Man’s 8,500-year-old bones are finally sequenced, revealing his genetic ancestry.
Science Breakthroughs of 2015: Deep Mantle Plumes
Science Breakthroughs of 2015: Seismic imaging reveals the existence of plumes of hot rock reaching deep into Earth’s mantle.
Science Breakthroughs of 2015: Homo Naledi
Science Breakthroughs of 2015: The discovery of an extinct human species in a South African cave made headlines this year.
Science Breakthroughs of 2015: Dwarf Planets
Science Breakthroughs of 2015: The larger planets may get more publicity, but the solar system’s smaller planetary bodies harbor just as many …