A|PART

n 2015 amateur astronomers observed strange light fluctuations from a distant star, like a light on a dimmer switch gone awry. The star’s mysterious behavior sparked two years-worth of scientific debate, inquiry, and theories closer to science fiction than science.

Follow a pair of bald eagles from a high-flying romance to the hatching of eaglets in their cozy nest on an electric tower in Readington, New Jersey.

At first glance, Lake Oswego seems like a sleepy, forested paradise—the perfect setting for an afternoon stroll or leisurely bike ride. But for residents Keaton and Taryn Jones, two autistic siblings with extreme auditory sensitivities, the never-ending traffic noise from Interstate-5 destroys the peace.

Whether in large cities or in the American countryside, an effort to make silencers more accessible puts the public safety at risk. Some lawmakers say gun-enthusiasts need silencers to protect their hearing. But critics say that’s a job for earmuffs, and that suppressing gunshots will only make crimes harder to detect. Since The Hearing Protection Act of 2017 also aims to eliminate a federal registry of silencer owners, it may be more about politics than public health.

Ever wonder how sunlight helps create electricity? The Loustau children render a lively new rendition of the inner workings of a solar panel. Soccer balls play boron atoms and children act as phosphorous electrons in this theatrical explainer.

by Bushraa Khatib Transcript: Bushraa Khatib: The link between autism and trauma is currently an understudied topic. Dr. Connor Kerns wants to change that. She’s a psychologist at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University. Her latest… Read More

When facing cancer diagnoses, my mother and brother received conflicting advice from their doctors. Can testing tumors actually cause cancer to spread?

Can stress alter the structure of our DNA? In one of the first studies of its kind, graduate researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York are attempting to find out in order to work toward more effective treatments for depression.

Christine, a hardworking millennial in Washington D.C., struggles to care for her distressed bonsai, named Gerald. Will a quest to learn the science at the root of this Japanese art form help save Gerald?

What does it take to make it big in the heart of downtown? For rodents, the first step is having a big brain that lets you adapt quickly to a strange new place. Recently, though, a researcher at the University of Minnesota has uncovered some surprising trends in brain size for city mice and their country cousins.

What happens when you don’t own the mineral rights under your home? Battlement Mesa residents are finding out.

Increasing human population and loss of natural habitat means that Florida’s two species of cranes are living closer and closer to people.

Two years ago, millions of oysters grown commercially off of Virginia’s Eastern Shore suddenly died. The search for the culprits has begun.