Space & Physics
Mystery of Death Valley's "Wandering Stones" Explained
Scientists spot ice shoving rocks on Racetrack Playa in California, resolving a longstanding geological enigma
Stories by Alexandra Witze
Space & Physics
Dust reveals ancient origin for Saturn's rings
Data from the Cassini spacecraft suggest the rings formed 4.4 billion years ago
Space & Physics
Near-Earth Asteroid Held Together by Unknown Force
The new discovery suggests better ways to deflect an incoming space rock
Environment
Native Ecosystems Blitzed by Drought
California's current water crisis offers a preview of what climate change will bring elsewhere
Space & Physics
Dig These Instruments That Will Be on NASA's Mars 2020 Rover
NASA says the rover will carry a zoomable camera, an oxygen-maker and instruments geared to the selection of samples that might be studied one day back on Earth
Space & Physics
Telescope Will Search for Spacecraft's Post-Pluto Target
The Hubble space telescope could increase the chances of success for the New Horizons mission, which is currently nine tenths of the way to Pluto
The Sciences
Quantum Network Would Be Most Precise Clock Yet
A proposal claims that harnessing quantum entanglement could surpass the accuracy of any single atomic clock
Evolution
Dinosaurs Were Neither Warm-Blooded nor Cold-Blooded
A metabolic analysis suggests that dinosaurs could regulate their body temperatures, but only to a point
Space & Physics
Space Station Science Ramps Up Despite U.S.–Russia Tensions
NASA pushes its research agenda in case Russia, which the U.S. has criticized for intervening in Ukraine, stops participating in the International Space Station
Space & Physics
Lunar Rock Chemistry Argued to Reveal How the Moon Formed
Small differences in oxygen-isotope ratios have been used to support the big-smash theory
Space & Physics
Pluto-Bound Spacecraft Faces Crisis
A scramble is on to find an object in the outer solar system's Kuiper Belt in time for a close-up visit
Space & Physics
NASA Plans Mars Sample-Return Rover
Planetary geologists are set to narrow down a list of landing sites for a mission set for 2020
Evolution
Long-Snouted Tyrannosaur Unearthed
"Pinocchio rex" roamed southern China just before the extinction of the dinosaurs
Environment
Chile's Recent Earthquake Defied Expectations
The smaller-than-expected tremor has scientists scrambling to redefine rules for areas of extreme seismic stress
Space & Physics
New Dwarf Planet Has Most Distant Trajectory Known
An icy body found far beyond Pluto raises questions about the history and far-flung contents of our solar system
Ecology
Water Returns to Arid Colorado River Delta
A U.S.-Mexico agreement is paving the way for a rare environmental test
Society & Policy
Flat Budgets for NIH and NSF in Obama's 2015 Plan
With Congress unlikely to approve tax-based boosts for science, agency funding hopes are dashed
Space & Physics
Bizarre Star Could Host a Neutron Star in Its Core
Astronomers have spotted their best candidate ever for a Thorne-Zytkow object, a hybrid star proposed almost 40 years ago
Environment
Supervolcanoes Erupt by Their Own Rules
Mega-eruptions and smaller volcanoes are triggered by different mechanisms
Environment
Mysterious Light Associated with Earthquakes Now Linked to Geological Rift Zones
Steep geologic faults are most likely to host strange luminescence
