@SN_Explores

Science News Explores is for readers of any age, from middle school on up. Publisher: @Society4Science. See also @ScienceNews. Tweets by @LillianHwang

 Washington, DC
snexplores.org/
Joined April 2011
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🎉 Science News for Students is now Science News Explores! 🎉 AND our brand new print magazine, for curious kids 9+, launched in May. Each issue has stories from our site, plus activities & other bonus features only in print. sciencenews.org/subscribe-to…
a photo of the cover of the first Science News Explores magazine issue. The cover has a blue and purple starscape and a planet hiding behind a galaxy. The cover story reads "Planets Gone Rogue." Other pages from the magazine fan out to either side of the cover.

ALT a photo of the cover of the first Science News Explores magazine issue. The cover has a blue and purple starscape and a planet hiding behind a galaxy. The cover story reads "Planets Gone Rogue." Other pages from the magazine fan out to either side of the cover.

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The universe’s missing matter may be hiding in vast clouds of thin gas. Fast radio bursts helped astronomers map it across intergalactic space. snexplores.org/article/missi…

Missing ‘ordinary’ matter found in clouds outside galaxies

Dark matter isn’t the universe’s only “missing” matter. Distant bursts of radio waves have now turned up vast, faint gas clouds surrounding galaxies.

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A plant in Death Valley survives scorching heat by cooling its leaves as much as 13 degrees C below the surrounding air. snexplores.org/article/extre…

In the heat, this Death Valley shrub air conditions its leaves

The Arizona honeysweet can beat the heat using evaporative cooling to keep its leaves up to 13 degrees C (23 degrees F) cooler than the surrounding air.

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Advances in digital tech and AI are transforming how scientists listen to nature. And the result is great news for wildlife across the globe. snexplores.org/article/bioac…

Calls of the wild offer sound guidance for protecting animals

The wild world is full of roars, whoops and songs. Scientists are using such sounds to guide efforts to help save species at threat of extinction.

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Float like a butterfly... swim like a bee? snexplores.org/article/bees-…

Bees may survive a swim by heading for the dark [COMIC]

Researchers recently learned that bees can swim. New findings show that bees paddle toward shade and dark to reach shore.

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Use AI as a coach, not a crutch, scientists say. snexplores.org/article/ai-ma…

Is AI making us dumber? Depends how it’s used

AI can weaken learning when it replaces effort. But tools that offer guidance rather than answers can help people hone their skills.

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An invisible superhighway of microbes courses through the atmosphere. It holds clues about disease transmission and extraterrestrial life. snexplores.org/article/life-…

Germs in the stratosphere ride a superhighway at the edge of space

Some microbes common on Earth's surface lead a secret double life. Soaring in the stratosphere, higher than jumbo jets, they carry clues about disease spread and alien life.

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For dogs, our faces may be an open book. snexplores.org/article/dogs-…

Anger or fear? Dogs may be able to read it on your face

Brain scans offer the first evidence that dogs can read certain human facial expressions.

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At 464° Celsius (862.7° Fahrenheit), the surface of Venus is far too hot for life as we know it. But a zone with Earthlike temperatures high in its clouds may be habitable. snexplores.org/article/clues…

These clues might point to life on other worlds

Gases and color on distant planets may trace to activity by extraterrestrial life. If so, those E.T.s are likely tiny, one-celled beings.

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Future telescopes might look for pigments and trace gases produced by microbes on other planets — signs of life that could be light-years away. snexplores.org/article/life-…

Germs in the stratosphere ride a superhighway at the edge of space

Some microbes common on Earth's surface lead a secret double life. Soaring in the stratosphere, higher than jumbo jets, they carry clues about disease spread and alien life.

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Is this it? A single dot on a graph could be the first direct detection of a dark-matter particle. Then again, it could be something less exciting. snexplores.org/article/lz-fi…

A hint of elusive dark matter may have finally emerged

For decades scientists have been trying to detect this invisible substance that fills the cosmos. The LZ experiment may have finally spied dark matter.

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The Japanese art of paper folding has inspired new designs for robots, telescopes and more. snexplores.org/article/lets-…

Let’s learn about origami-inspired science

The Japanese art of paper folding has inspired new designs for lightweight and shapeshifting technology.

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Fire may look like a simple one-step chemical reaction. But this week’s word — pyrolysis — shows us this phenomenon arises from several chemical steps. snexplores.org/article/scien…

Scientists Say: Pyrolysis

This oxygen-free “burning” reaction explains why charcoal can burn, but typical campfire soot cannot.

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Also unusual: There’s been a very rapid swing from a La Niña, last winter, to a very strong El Niño — all in less than a year. That might be the fastest such swing ever seen. snexplores.org/article/recor…

2026’s El Niño is record-breaking — and it’s not done yet

Within the ocean region where El Niños form, daily sea-surface temperatures are already more extreme than at any point in recorded history.

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Naked mole-rats exposed to this powerful smell will not fight or mate. When the odor disappears, chaos ensues. snexplores.org/article/naked…

Among naked mole-rats, a royal’s scent keeps the peace

The special scent made only by breeding queens keeps the other naked mole-rats from fighting or reproducing.

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Humans think farts are funny, but for some animals, farts have a function — from communication to floatation. snexplores.org/article/anima…

Farting fish and tooting manatees — how some animals use gas

Humans think farts are funny — but some animals rely on farts for flotation, communication and more.

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Can you burp in space? Why do we burp at all? Our bodies make a lot of gas, and it’s just got to get out. snexplores.org/article/burps…

Burps and farts: Why the body is such a gas

People make a lot of gas, and it’s got to come out one end or the other. Understanding those farts and burps could tell us a lot about our health.

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A “cold blob” in the North Atlantic is linked to a major ocean current’s looming shutdown. snexplores.org/article/cold-…

Even as Earth’s oceans warm, one spot has gone cold

A cold blob of water in the North Atlantic suggests that an important ocean current is weakening.

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This device takes a cue from armadillos to protect sensitive cargo. snexplores.org/article/soft-…

Like an armadillo, a new soft robot rolls up to protect itself

Like the three-banded armadillo, this device can roll up to shield its innards, such as sensitive electronics and a small payload.

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Early humans weren’t always big-game hunters. Tooth marks on a 2-million-year-old fossil show that our ancestors were once the hunted — by big cats. snexplores.org/article/human…

When humans were hunted as prey

Bite marks on a 2-million-year-old human jaw suggest leopards once hunted people as prey. People likely survived by learning to team up.

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“There have been times when people have assumed I can't do something. That's really frustrating, but it's also given me the skill to really speak up and advocate for myself.” snexplores.org/article/ocean…

Seals helped this oceanographer study the Southern Ocean 

Oceanographer Lily Dove uses remote robots to study Antarctica’s perilous oceans.

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