2+ hour, 49+ min ago  (382+ words) Rearrangement of atoms on the metal's surface helps prevent reactions with oxygen Unlike other metals, which oxidize in air, gold (pictured) doesn't react. Now scientists have a better understanding of why. Steel rusts over time; copper goes green. But gold…...

1+ mon, 4+ day ago  (657+ words) Nancy Shute is editor in chief of Science News Media Group. Previously, she was an editor at NPR and US News & World Report, and a contributor to National Geographic and Scientific American. She is a past president of the National…...

1+ mon, 3+ week ago  (397+ words) Supercooled water exists in two liquid forms that become indistinguishable under the right conditions Supercooled water can exist in a denser liquid with more closely packed molecules (bottom in this illustration) or a less dense liquid. By probing supercooled water…...

2+ mon, 2+ week ago  (368+ words) It's half as twisty as the paper loops common in math classes A half-M'bius molecule is made of carbon atoms (gray) and chlorine (green). Red and blue regions show the twisty wave function for electrons added to the molecule. A…...

4+ mon, 1+ day ago  (604+ words) The wily nature of the subatomic particles makes them notoriously hard to measure Scientists once doubted that neutrinos could ever be observed. Today, detectors around the world, including at the Daya Bay experiment in China, pick up signals of these…...

5+ mon, 1+ week ago  (1712+ words) The Asgard archaea bear traits that hint at how eukaryotes first emerged Microbes first found around hydrothermal vents offer clues to how all complex life may have emerged on Earth " and maybe beyond. In many submerged regions, murky mud shelters…...

6+ mon, 2+ week ago  (350+ words) Visible in everyday flowing fluids, the effect can originate on scales smaller than a nanometer A stream of water breaks into droplets as it falls, thanks to the Rayleigh-Plateau instability, which amplifies small disturbances in the jet's surface. A team…...

7+ mon, 2+ week ago  (328+ words) Capacious molecular structures can collect water from air, capture greenhouse gases and much more Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi (illustrated left to right) have won the 2025 Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work on metal-organic frameworks. These capacious…...

7+ mon, 3+ week ago  (388+ words) Jostling microbubbles of air and methane can create tiny lightning zaps, lab tests show Glowing balls of bluish light have been seen above swamps and cemeteries around the world, as seen in this early 1800s engraving. Swamp will-o-the-wisps are believed to…...

7+ mon, 3+ week ago  (138+ words) Trapped air bubbles move, merge and dissolve without fracturing the crystal lattice Bubbles are visible in the cracked ice of a frozen lake. In the dog days of summer, popping a tray of water into the freezer to make ice…...