Explainer: What are Antibodies?
Antibodies are one of the major players in the immune system’s attack against germs. Learn what they are, what they do and how they keep us healthy.| Science News Explores
Science News Explores publishes news from all fields of science for students from middle school and up, with resources for parents and educators.| Science News Explores
Antibodies are one of the major players in the immune system’s attack against germs. Learn what they are, what they do and how they keep us healthy.| Science News Explores
Vaccines help the body develop immunity to a disease. They are biological mixtures that imitate a disease so the body can defend itself.| Science News Explores
Could these colorful fish aid struggling coral? Yes, but not always. Parrotfish play a complex role in reefs — and sometimes may cause harm.| Science News Explores
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.| Science News Explores
Two hatchlings with broken arm bones point to ancient storms as the cause of mass casualties now preserved in Germany’s Solnhofen Limestone.| Science News Explores
No one knows exactly what this stuff is, but it’s shaping our universe on the largest scales.| Science News Explores
The insects’ nimble movements on the surface of water inspired a robot with automatically unfurling fans on its feet.| Science News Explores
Take note: This term might describe ancient pottery shards in the field of archeology. But in statistics, it’s a misleading pattern in data.| Science News Explores
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.| Science News Explores
Affected coastal cities tend to flood more often — a growing threat in this era of continuing sea level rise.| Science News Explores
Recently bullied teens with a strong sense of connectedness at school reported fewer signs of depression than those without it, a new study finds.| Science News Explores
The type of calcium in those teeth points to what herbivores preferred to eat — whether soft leaves, rough twigs or something else.| Science News Explores
A bite or puncture from a venomous critter can cause paralysis, flesh rot, organ failure and many more violent — and sometimes fatal — symptoms.| Science News Explores
When students spend just nine minutes doing high-intensity interval exercises, their brains can work more efficiently, new data show.| Science News Explores
“Listening” for changes in these deep rumblings can allow scientists to predict earthquakes and other geological events.| Science News Explores
Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi developed these metal-organic frameworks, which can trap pollutants, collect water from air and more.| Science News Explores
A floss-based solution may one day allow people to give themselves vaccines — no injection needed.| Science News Explores
In Shark Week shows, scientists found mixed messages about sharks, insufficient research support and little info on conserving endangered animals.| Science News Explores
Equipped with the world’s largest digital camera, this new telescope is poised to help solve some of the universe’s biggest mysteries.| Science News Explores
John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis turned up quantum effects in an electric circuit. This 1980s find underlies today’s quantum computers.| Science News Explores
When you're the size of a grain of sand, flying through air is like swimming through a syrup. Bristled wings help the tiniest insects manage this.| Science News Explores
Shimon Sakaguchi won for discovering T-reg immune cells. Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell won for showing the cells’ role in autoimmune disease.| Science News Explores
Let’s find out how pinecones respond to different temperatures — by mimicking changes in weather from the comfort of our own kitchens!| Science News Explores
Heidy Martinez never wanted to study sharks as a kid. That changed after encountering a white shark in South Africa.| Science News Explores
The atoms that make us up couldn’t be shrunk or smashed closer together — at least, not without catastrophic consequences.| Science News Explores
Virtual reality is an immersive, 3-D artificial environment created by a computer.| Science News Explores
Vaccines give the body’s natural defense system a boost against infectious disease.| Science News Explores
An army of cells — and their protein arsenal — work to keep us safe. Several squads of special forces possess unique superpowers to disable or kill intruders.| Science News Explores
It activates parts of the brain that detect threats and boosts the activity of at least one type of immune cell.| Science News Explores
An orbit is the path one object in space takes around another, such as a planet, star or the center of an atom.| Science News Explores
Earth’s five layers extend from the ground up and into outer space. Each has its own distinct features and serves as the site of different activities and phenomena.| Science News Explores
A reanalysis of satellite data showed that a 2017 Texas-to-Missouri lightning megaflash stretched 829 kilometers (515 miles) and lasted 7.39 seconds.| Science News Explores
Geometry is math that allows people to measure, analyze and compare figures in space.| Science News Explores
When an object experiences a force, its change in motion — or acceleration — depends on its mass.| Science News Explores
This math, and the geometers who use it, can solve problems from how to stack oranges to designing better vaccines.| Science News Explores
Scientists thought they knew what was behind rose petals’ geometry. They were wrong.| Science News Explores
The body’s soft, outer armor contains three layers, each with its own important role to play.| Science News Explores
This is the most detailed look yet at how we perspire. Beads of sweat are out, puddling is in.| Science News Explores
This invasive pest has spread to 17 U.S. states and may threaten vineyards. But bats, fungi, dogs and even trees may help halt the lanternfly's spread.| Science News Explores
A virus must take over a living cell's machinery to make more viruses.| Science News Explores
These are organisms that belong to the same species, but have definable differences.| Science News Explores
A molecule is a group of atoms linked with chemical bonds. It’s the smallest particle of a substance that has all of its chemical properties.| Science News Explores
They can sometimes identify not only the types, but also how many there are. One day, lasers might be able to keep track of what germs are around us.| Science News Explores
Whether cash or credit, phone apps or digital currencies — all forms of payment have behind-the-scenes costs. And these can vary dramatically.| Science News Explores
Proteins are molecules made up of building blocks called amino acids. They play many key roles in the body’s cells and are essential for life.| Science News Explores
It takes a lot for images before the eyes to be 'seen.' It starts by special cells sensing the light, then signals relaying those data to the brain.| Science News Explores
These task-doers handle jobs as simple as vacuuming the floor and as complex as navigating extraterrestrial terrains.| Science News Explores
This glossary provides definitions and audio clips to help you learn and pronounce even the toughest science terms.| Science News Explores
Machine learning allows computers to learn new skills without programmers having to write out step-by-step instructions.| Science News Explores
Artificial intelligence is technology smart enough to do tasks that would normally require human brainpower.| Science News Explores
Large language models, or LLMs, are language-processing systems that underpin advanced AI technologies such as ChatGPT.| Science News Explores
These step-by-step instructions underlie social media, internet searches and other computer-based activities. But what are they exactly? We explain.| Science News Explores
