Sorcha McDonagh

All Stories by Sorcha McDonagh

  1. Chemistry

    Gooey Secrets of Mussel Power

    By learning how mussels stick, scientists may find a way to make them come unstuck.

  2. Planets

    Catching a Comet’s Tail

    A closeup visit by a NASA spacecraft helps show how a comet gets its shape.

  3. Agriculture

    Protecting cows—and people—from a deadly disease

    Mad cow disease has appeared in the United States, but scientists say it can be contained easily.

  4. Fossils

    Did dinosaurs do handstands?

    Enormous dinosaurs might have balanced on their front feet when wading in shallow water.

  5. Tech

    A micro-dose of your own medicine

    Medicine-delivering microchips implanted in the body could replace some injections and pills.

  6. Humans

    The puzzle of ancient mariners

    Prehistoric sailors may have traveled from island to island across the ocean.

  7. Fossils

    Watery fate for nature’s gliders

    Fossil bones hint that sea-level increases doomed Atlantic albatross populations.

  8. Tech

    Tinkering With the Basic Bike

    Turning a bicycle into a blender, and making it go faster and farther with less effort.

  9. Humans

    Of Lice and Old Clothes

    The history of lice hints that people started wearing clothes regularly about 70,000 years ago.

  10. Space

    Zooming In on the Wild Sun

    A close look at the sun reveals a chaotic, ever-changing surface.

  11. Brain

    The Social Side of Baby Talk

    A mother's body language can make her baby's babbles more like speech.