Carly Kay is the Fall 2025 science writing intern at Science News. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
I am lying under a blanket, feeling rough, staring at a bowl of oranges. Every fibre of my being is urging me to devour the lot. I can hear my mum – and medical friends at university – insisting that a megadose of vitamin C will head off my oncoming cold. The thing is, I…
NEW ORLEANS — One year ago, scientists made a surprisingly concrete prediction: Before 2025 was out, they said, Axial volcano — a submerged seamount near Oregon in the Northern Pacific Ocean — would erupt. That hasn’t happened. But it still might — in 2026. Scientists haven’t yet come up with a reliable way to forecast…
Kendra Pierre-Louis: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Kendra Pierre-Louis, in for Rachel Feltman. As the year comes to an end, instead of catching up on the latest science stories you might have missed this past week, we are going to take a quick look at 2025 with the help of some Scientific American editors….
Balls of gas with a black hole at their centre could glow like a star Shutterstock / Nazarii_Neshcherenskyi The early universe appears to be littered with enormous star-like balls of gas powered by a black hole at their core, a finding that has taken astronomers by surprise and might solve one of the biggest mysteries…
When neurons are active in your brain they create waste products Nick Veasey/Science Photo Library/Alamy As we enjoy ourselves through the festive season, many will already be planning a detox in the new year: cutting back on screentime, perhaps, or abstaining from alcohol. Recently, I wondered whether you could apply the same logic to the…
Under no light but the stars, a green sea turtle hauls herself out of the surf and onto the familiar sand of Alagadi Beach on the northern coast of Cyprus. She doesn’t notice any predators as she makes her way up the beach; tonight will be the night. When the turtle reaches a satisfactory spot,…
Like many people who visit San Juan Island, I came here for the orcas. This little patch of forest and farmland off the coast of Washington State is one of the best places in the world to encounter them. But you can’t schedule an orca sighting, so on a sunny July day I was killing…
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A night of solid rest can feel like a panacea. The quantity and quality of our sleep influence our physical health, our moods, our cognition and our ability to function in almost every aspect of life. Good sleep seems to improve all these measures, and bad sleep takes a significant toll. Yet sleep can’t be…
