Steven Sparkman

Steven Sparkman

Steven Sparkman

Recent Work
Earth-like planet Proxima b orbiting its star

What We Know So Far About Earth's New Twin

A Greenland shark swimming

This Giant Shark Can Live For 400 Years

Cells passed back and forth between humans and animals

Scientists Are Pushing Ahead With Human-Animal Hybrid Research

A statue of Yu the Great.

A Legend Of A Flood Spurring Chinese Civilization May Be A Little True

A patient gets a nasal swab from a doctor.

An Antibiotic Found In Our Noses Fights MRSA

Collage of older people

We Might Stop Growing As We Age, But Our Ears Don't

A synthetic stingray that uses living cells to maneuver

A Remote-Controlled Cyborg Stingray Now Exists

Map of the observable universe

The Impatient Person's Guide To The End Of The Universe

A Bing user searchers for early cancer signs

Microsoft Used Bing Search Histories To Detect Cancer

Two dogs play in the woods

Humans May Have Tamed Wolves Twice Because Dogs Are Worth It

A rendering of an ancient Martian ocean.

Mars Didn't Just Have Oceans; It Might've Even Had Giant Tsunamis

DNA double helix

Scientists Want To Synthesize The Human Genome. What Does That Mean?

Puddles could be where life on Earth first arose

It's Surprisingly Easy To Brew Something Like RNA In A Puddle

A research participant sleeps while scientists play beeping noises in their ears.

Can't Sleep In A New Place? Your Brain May Be Waiting For Danger

Nanoparticles could end allergies to eggs, peanuts, ragweed and more

Food Allergies Could Soon Be Turned Off By Tiny Bits Of Plastic

The sun is often thought of being yellow or red but is actually white.

The Sun Isn't Yellow Or Orange; It's White

Nearby supernovas scattered debris on Earth.

Earth Survived 2 Close Calls With Supernovas

News sites try to explain the Panama Papers

The Panama Papers Story Is Dense, So News Sites Made Quirky Explainers

Melting ice from Antarctica contributes to sea level rise

Sea Levels Could Rise Twice As Fast By The End Of The Century

Illustration of Japan's Hitomi space telescope, which has malfunctioned.

Japan May Have Lost Its Black Hole Telescope

A new synthetic bacteria has the smallest possible genome

Synthetic Life Has Been Streamlined And Is Ready To Be Put To Work

The parasite Toxoplasma gondii has been linked to aggressive tendencies in hosts.

A Brain Parasite Might Be Making Us Angrier

Guns on display at a gun show

Most Gun Laws Found Not To Work, But Background Checks Might

A green hydra waiting to ambush prey

Meet The Tiny, Immortal Hydra, Which Rips Itself Open To Eat

Electronic "octopus skin" is able to stretch and change color.

A Robot Made Out Of Stretchy, Electronic 'Octopus Skin'

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly undergoes tests on the effects of living in space

NASA's Scott Kelly Is Back On Earth; Now, He'll Be Prodded For Years

Donald Trump speaks at a South Carolina campaign event

GOP Leaders Struggle With The Realization Trump May Be Their Nominee

Vials of chemotherapy drugs

Living With Cancer Might Be Better Than Trying To Cure It

ATLASGAL image of Milky Way galaxy

Gorgeous New Milky Way Image Maps Our Galaxy's Dust

Salt crystals

Is Salt Bad For You? Scientists Are Too Polarized To Figure It Out