Science

Testing temperature with your ears

7:09pm November 15, 2021

Chefs in Japan dip a wet chopstick in hot oil and listen to the sizzle, to know when it's ready for tempura. A physicist investigated that technique in the lab to zero in on the perfect fry frequency.

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Protesters take part in the Women's March and Rally for Abortion Justice in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 2. The demonstration targeted Senate Bill 8, a state law that bans nearly all abortions as early as six weeks in a pregnancy, making no exceptions for survi

How the Texas ban on most abortions is harming survivors of rape and incest

5:00am November 15, 2021

by Ashley Lopez

The Texas law has no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest. Social workers say that's hurting some survivors financially, psychologically and physically.

The Police lead singer Sting performs in 2007.

'Every Breath You Take' is the ultimate all-round song (according to science)

1:55pm November 13, 2021

by Mano Sundaresan

Researcher analyzed streaming data for nearly 4 million songs on Spotify to see if there was a pattern to the types of music we listen to. They came up with five different blocks of music.

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Conceptual paper illustration of human hands and coronavirus in a lab.

New clues to the biology of long COVID are starting to emerge

7:16pm November 12, 2021

by Rob Stein

Scientists have begun to find abnormalities in the immune systems of some long-COVID patients that might help explain the syndrome, at least in some people. But there is still much more to learn.

Birds in the Amazon have been shrinking. Here's why scientists think it's happening

5:08pm November 12, 2021

by Christopher Intagliata

Over the last four decades, birds in the Amazon have been shrinking — and scientists believe their smaller bodies may be a response to hotter, drier weather brought by climate change.

Climate activists demonstrate at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Friday. Negotiators from almost 200 nations were making a fresh push to reach agreement on a series of key issues.

In a first, U.N. climate agreement could include the words 'coal' and 'fossil fuels'

3:44pm November 12, 2021

The U.N. secretary-general warns the main goal of limiting global warming is "on life support." But Glasgow negotiators are making modest progress in their final hours.

Dr. Robert Califf is pictured in 2016. President Biden is nominating Califf to again lead the Food and Drug Administration.

Biden nominates former Commissioner Robert Califf to again lead FDA

3:36pm November 12, 2021

by Brian Naylor

The Food and Drug Administration has been without a permanent leader since President Biden took office in January. Califf led the agency during the last year of the Obama administration.

Youth climate activists protest on Thursday that representatives of the fossil fuel industry have been allowed inside the venue during the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow.

The fossil fuel industry turned out in force at COP26. So did climate activists

1:59pm November 12, 2021

by Frank Langfitt

More than 500 attendees from the fossil fuel industry are at the climate summit in Glasgow. Their reps have attended climate summits for decades. Some are touting a shift toward renewables.

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A student walks to school in the middle of parent protesters.

When can kids take off their masks in school? Here's what some experts say

11:45am November 12, 2021

by Anya Kamenetz

With vaccines now available for children as young as 5, some school districts are easing up on their mask policies.

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Two bald eagles entangled after a fight in Plymouth, Minnesota.

A pair of bald eagles was caught on video entangled on a Minnesota street

11:08am November 12, 2021

by Joe Hernandez

The two birds writhed around together on a residential street for minutes, unable to separate themselves from each other. They reportedly flew away unharmed without police intervention.