Science News Explores
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Science News Explores is for readers of any age, from middle school on up. https://linktr.ee/sn.explores See also @sciencenews.bsky.social 🧪
People use glue guns to fix lots of things. Now researchers have modified one to help fix broken bones. https://www.snexplores.org/article/glue-gun-heal-broken-bones
A modified glue gun squirts a material to help heal broken bones
The handheld printer might someday apply bone-repair patches directly onto fractures — complete with antibiotics to prevent infection.
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November 10, 2025 at 10:55 PM
People use glue guns to fix lots of things. Now researchers have modified one to help fix broken bones. https://www.snexplores.org/article/glue-gun-heal-broken-bones
When a perigee and full moon collide, this bold, beautiful lunar event can rise. This week’s word is supermoon. https://www.snexplores.org/article/scientists-say-supermoon-definition-pronunciation
November 10, 2025 at 9:37 PM
When a perigee and full moon collide, this bold, beautiful lunar event can rise. This week’s word is supermoon. https://www.snexplores.org/article/scientists-say-supermoon-definition-pronunciation
Colors spark similar brain responses across people. https://www.snexplores.org/article/brain-activity-see-color-red
To our brains, your red is my red
A given color, such as red or yellow, may spark similar brain activity across individuals, new research suggests. This could settle a long-standing debate.
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November 8, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Colors spark similar brain responses across people. https://www.snexplores.org/article/brain-activity-see-color-red
Like bells, black holes should ring with a fundamental pitch and other “overtone” frequencies. Scientists have for the first time clearly detected both pitch types coming from a black hole. https://www.snexplores.org/article/black-hole-ringing-gravitational-waves
Scientists caught a black hole ringing like a bell
Two black holes merged, creating a new, bigger one. This event triggered the clearest ripples in spacetime ever observed.
www.snexplores.org
November 7, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Like bells, black holes should ring with a fundamental pitch and other “overtone” frequencies. Scientists have for the first time clearly detected both pitch types coming from a black hole. https://www.snexplores.org/article/black-hole-ringing-gravitational-waves
Experiments conducted over multiple generations of scientists unveil secrets no single researcher could discover alone. https://www.snexplores.org/article/long-term-experiments-outlive-scientists
These ultra-long experiments outlive their scientists — on purpose
To study phenomena that unfold over decades or even centuries, scientists may launch long-running projects they may never see finished.
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November 6, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Experiments conducted over multiple generations of scientists unveil secrets no single researcher could discover alone. https://www.snexplores.org/article/long-term-experiments-outlive-scientists
These materials could filter PFAS out of drinking water, get scrubbed clean and then reused. https://www.snexplores.org/article/mof-filter-pfas-forever-chemicals-water
New materials yank PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ from water
Materials known as metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs, trap some PFAS fast — and can be reused again and again.
www.snexplores.org
November 6, 2025 at 2:01 PM
These materials could filter PFAS out of drinking water, get scrubbed clean and then reused. https://www.snexplores.org/article/mof-filter-pfas-forever-chemicals-water
By simply getting rid of our poop and pee, we may be flushing money away — literally. https://www.snexplores.org/article/lets-learn-about-surprising-uses-for-human-waste
Let’s learn about surprising uses for human waste
Around the world, scientists are investigating ways to turn poop and pee into fertilizer, fuel and construction materials.
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November 4, 2025 at 9:15 PM
By simply getting rid of our poop and pee, we may be flushing money away — literally. https://www.snexplores.org/article/lets-learn-about-surprising-uses-for-human-waste
From goat bleats to fungal chemical signals, this linguist draws from many sources of inspiration to make new languages. https://www.snexplores.org/article/linguist-invented-contructed-languages
This linguist has invented over 20 languages
Margaret Ransdell-Green draws on her expertise in linguistics and music to create new, fictional languages — and sings in them, too.
www.snexplores.org
November 3, 2025 at 6:59 PM
From goat bleats to fungal chemical signals, this linguist draws from many sources of inspiration to make new languages. https://www.snexplores.org/article/linguist-invented-contructed-languages
Southeast Asians mummified their ancestors long before the Egyptians. https://www.snexplores.org/article/oldest-mummies-smoke-dried-asia
Smoke-dried mummies found in Southeast Asia are the oldest known
The corpses had been slow-dried over fires 12,000 years ago — millennia before Egyptians began mummifying their dead.
www.snexplores.org
October 31, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Southeast Asians mummified their ancestors long before the Egyptians. https://www.snexplores.org/article/oldest-mummies-smoke-dried-asia
🕷️🧟🍬 Happy Halloween! 🎃🌕🐺
Come visit our homepage (https://www.snexplores.org/) for our annual spooky science story takeover. We'll be back to normal on Monday. #SpookyScience #Spooktober #SpookySeason #Halloween
Come visit our homepage (https://www.snexplores.org/) for our annual spooky science story takeover. We'll be back to normal on Monday. #SpookyScience #Spooktober #SpookySeason #Halloween
October 31, 2025 at 2:13 PM
🕷️🧟🍬 Happy Halloween! 🎃🌕🐺
Come visit our homepage (https://www.snexplores.org/) for our annual spooky science story takeover. We'll be back to normal on Monday. #SpookyScience #Spooktober #SpookySeason #Halloween
Come visit our homepage (https://www.snexplores.org/) for our annual spooky science story takeover. We'll be back to normal on Monday. #SpookyScience #Spooktober #SpookySeason #Halloween
Migrating en masse in the dark of night protects songbirds from most predators — but not bats. https://www.snexplores.org/article/bats-midflight-bird-feast
Analyze This: Some bats feast on songbirds midflight
Sensor data reveal greater noctule bats chasing, catching and chewing on birds during nighttime hunts.
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October 29, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Migrating en masse in the dark of night protects songbirds from most predators — but not bats. https://www.snexplores.org/article/bats-midflight-bird-feast
Yeast and bacteria give fine chocolate notes of fruit, flowers, citrus, berry and caramel. https://www.snexplores.org/article/chocolate-flavor-bacteria-yeast #NationalChocolateDay
Thank microbes for chocolate’s tasty flavors
Cocoa beans matter, but yeast and bacteria may be the real secret to fine chocolate flavor.
www.snexplores.org
October 28, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Yeast and bacteria give fine chocolate notes of fruit, flowers, citrus, berry and caramel. https://www.snexplores.org/article/chocolate-flavor-bacteria-yeast #NationalChocolateDay
What started as a fun side project turned into a surprising discovery. https://www.snexplores.org/article/grooved-surface-ice-sliding
Spooky! Grooved surface sends ice sailing — no outside push needed
Boulders that have mysteriously moved across Death Valley’s landscape inspired the work. The new surface can slingshot ice in a chosen direction.
www.snexplores.org
October 27, 2025 at 8:57 PM
What started as a fun side project turned into a surprising discovery. https://www.snexplores.org/article/grooved-surface-ice-sliding
Most of the vitamins we need come from the foods we eat. But our bodies also play a role in making these essential nutrients.
https://www.snexplores.org/article/what-are-vitamins
https://www.snexplores.org/article/what-are-vitamins
What are vitamins?
Humans need 13 different vitamins to stay healthy. Most come from the food we eat. Others are made in our bodies.
www.snexplores.org
October 24, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Most of the vitamins we need come from the foods we eat. But our bodies also play a role in making these essential nutrients.
https://www.snexplores.org/article/what-are-vitamins
https://www.snexplores.org/article/what-are-vitamins
Are parrotfish a superhero for struggling reefs? Sometimes, but not always. It depends on other reef stressors. And there are a lot of stressors. https://www.snexplores.org/article/parrotfish-algae-coral-reef-ecosystems
Parrotfish shape the future of coral reefs, one bite at a time
Could these colorful fish aid struggling coral? Yes, but not always. Parrotfish play a complex role in reefs — and sometimes may cause harm.
www.snexplores.org
October 23, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Are parrotfish a superhero for struggling reefs? Sometimes, but not always. It depends on other reef stressors. And there are a lot of stressors. https://www.snexplores.org/article/parrotfish-algae-coral-reef-ecosystems
Some tattoos age well. More than two millennia ago, a woman in Siberia rocked some sick sleeves. https://www.snexplores.org/article/ancient-tattoos-siberian-ice-mummy
Intricate tattoos adorn this ancient Siberian ice mummy's arms
The 2,000-year-old woman wears ink of prowling tigers and a fantastical griffin-like beast. Her tattoos were inked by two artists — a beginner and an expert.
www.snexplores.org
October 22, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Some tattoos age well. More than two millennia ago, a woman in Siberia rocked some sick sleeves. https://www.snexplores.org/article/ancient-tattoos-siberian-ice-mummy
Two pterosaur hatchlings point to how hundreds of their kind may have met an untimely end — a cold-case more than 100 million years old. https://www.snexplores.org/article/baby-pterosaurs-died-jurassic-storms
Baby pterosaurs likely died in violent Jurassic storms
Two pterosaur hatchlings with broken arm bones point to ancient storms as the cause of mass casualties now preserved in Germany's Solnhofen Limestone.
www.snexplores.org
October 21, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Two pterosaur hatchlings point to how hundreds of their kind may have met an untimely end — a cold-case more than 100 million years old. https://www.snexplores.org/article/baby-pterosaurs-died-jurassic-storms
If you want to walk on water, it helps to have fancy feet. https://www.snexplores.org/article/ripple-bug-robot-feet-walk-on-water
Ripple bugs’ frilly feet inspired a water-striding robot
The insects' nimble movements on the surface of water inspired a ripple bug-like robot with automatically unfurling fans on its feet.
www.snexplores.org
October 20, 2025 at 9:29 PM
If you want to walk on water, it helps to have fancy feet. https://www.snexplores.org/article/ripple-bug-robot-feet-walk-on-water
Rideable horses would have been a game changer for human societies. It changed the face of both transportation and war. https://www.snexplores.org/article/horses-ride-tame-genes-breeding
Horses became gentle and easy to ride thanks to two gene mutations
Horse breeders altered two genes by targeting certain traits in horses. One made the animals tamer. Another made their backs sturdy enough to carry riders.
www.snexplores.org
October 17, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Rideable horses would have been a game changer for human societies. It changed the face of both transportation and war. https://www.snexplores.org/article/horses-ride-tame-genes-breeding
Pulling too much water out of the ground can worsen surface flooding. Some cities are fighting back. https://www.snexplores.org/article/cities-sinking-floods-groundwater
Cities across the world are sinking. Here’s how they might rebound
Affected coastal cities tend to flood more often — a growing threat in this era of continuing sea level rise.
www.snexplores.org
October 16, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Pulling too much water out of the ground can worsen surface flooding. Some cities are fighting back. https://www.snexplores.org/article/cities-sinking-floods-groundwater
Bullying hurts kids when it happens — and afterward as well. New research suggests how stronger connections at school can help. https://www.snexplores.org/article/school-bullying-teen-mental-health
Connections at school could limit bullying’s harm to mental health
Among teens who recently experienced bullying, those with a strong sense of connectedness at school reported fewer signs of depression than those without one.
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October 15, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Bullying hurts kids when it happens — and afterward as well. New research suggests how stronger connections at school can help. https://www.snexplores.org/article/school-bullying-teen-mental-health
Big plant-eating dinos would seem to have their choice of dinner options. But a new study suggests some preferred eating rough stuff. https://www.snexplores.org/article/fossil-teeth-calcium-dinos-fussy-eaters
Fossil teeth reveal some dinos were fussy eaters
The type of calcium in those teeth points to what herbivores preferred to eat — whether soft leaves, rough twigs or something else.
www.snexplores.org
October 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Big plant-eating dinos would seem to have their choice of dinner options. But a new study suggests some preferred eating rough stuff. https://www.snexplores.org/article/fossil-teeth-calcium-dinos-fussy-eaters
Feeling anxious? A short bout of high-intensity interval exercise can calm your brain. https://www.snexplores.org/article/classroom-exercise-workouts-boost-brain
Short exercise workouts can boost classroom performance
When students spend just nine minutes doing high-intensity interval exercises, their brains can work more efficiently, new data show.
www.snexplores.org
October 13, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Feeling anxious? A short bout of high-intensity interval exercise can calm your brain. https://www.snexplores.org/article/classroom-exercise-workouts-boost-brain
Imagine something with the mass of a sugar cube but the surface area of a soccer field.
That’s the family of structures behind the 2025 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
https://www.snexplores.org/article/mof-metal-organic-chemistry-nobel
That’s the family of structures behind the 2025 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
https://www.snexplores.org/article/mof-metal-organic-chemistry-nobel
Like Hermione’s magic handbag for chemists, MOFs can stash a lot of stuff
Short for metal-organic frameworks, MOFs can trap pollutants, collect water from air and more. They landed a chemistry Nobel for Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi.
www.snexplores.org
October 10, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Imagine something with the mass of a sugar cube but the surface area of a soccer field.
That’s the family of structures behind the 2025 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
https://www.snexplores.org/article/mof-metal-organic-chemistry-nobel
That’s the family of structures behind the 2025 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
https://www.snexplores.org/article/mof-metal-organic-chemistry-nobel
Flossing a mouse? It’s a two-person job. https://www.snexplores.org/article/floss-flu-vaccine-mice-needle-free
Floss delivers flu vaccine to mice needle-free
A floss-based solution may one day allow people to give themselves vaccines — no injection needed.
www.snexplores.org
October 10, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Flossing a mouse? It’s a two-person job. https://www.snexplores.org/article/floss-flu-vaccine-mice-needle-free