WIRED Science: Space, Health, Biotech, and More: Recent Episodes
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Narrators read our favorite written stories. You can listen to them anywhere, including on your smart speaker. Play for audio versions of WIRED's latest Science stories on genetic engineering, robotics, space, climate change, and more.
Harmful algal blooms are taking over as the world warms and grows richer in carbon dioxide—and there’s no easy fix. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Following a joint “mishap investigation” by SpaceX and the FAA, the federal agency listed 63 issues that must be addressed before launches can resume at the Texas site. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A new study shows that semaglutide reduces heart failure symptoms like fatigue and swelling by bringing down body weight. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Last year’s NASA mission proved it was possible to knock an incoming near-Earth object off course. But that creates debris—which might also be a threat. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Raccoons are a main carrier of rabies in the US. A government effort distributes millions of tasty vaccines to protect both animals and people. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Some residents of Yellowknife are staying behind to fight back wildfires that could soon engulf the Canadian city. Others have shared harrowing stories as they race to escape the flames. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Fungal infections are rising worldwide and climate change may be to blame. Medicine isn’t ready. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
While India’s spacecraft landed on the lunar surface, the Russian one collided with it. The mixed record shows that developing a lunar economy won’t be easy. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Gusts primed the Maui landscape to burn, then drove an out-of-control blaze. It’s a worst-case scenario that’s growing increasingly common around the world. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mexico and the western US are reeling from record-shattering rainfall. Blame high ocean temperatures—and prepare for worse to come as the planet warms. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A victory for Montanans’ right to a clean, healthy environment could set a precedent for other climate lawsuits throughout the United States. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Robotic spacecraft from both countries are aiming to touch down on the moon’s southern hemisphere, as one’s space program waxes and the other wanes. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ethics watchdogs are looking out for potentially undisclosed use of generative AI in scientific writing. But there’s no foolproof way to catch it all yet. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
From the Hawaii Community Foundation to the Maui Food Bank, donations to these groups aid people impacted by the recent disaster in Lahaina. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Humans figured out how to prevent huge fires in urban areas over a century ago. Why have they gotten so bad again? Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chronic drinking depletes the brain’s dopamine levels. A single dose of a gene therapy reset them, and stopped the craving for alcohol. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The space agency lost touch with the beloved spacecraft following a faulty command signal. Here’s how it happened—and how engineers worked to bring it back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wildfires were once rare across the Aloha State. But drought, invasive species, and human development have pushed Hawaii into a fiery new age. Read this story here.
Wastewater fuels blooms of reef-smothering algae. Better engineering and an army of funny-looking fish can come to the rescue. Read this story here.
Nobody knows what around a fifth of your genes actually do. It’s hoped they could hold the secret to fixing developmental disorders, cancer, neurodegeneration, and more. Read this story here.
An unprecedented look at dopamine in the brain reveals that psychosis drugs get developed with the wrong neurons in mind.
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An extra membrane that once had digestive functions let marine microbes boost their yield from photosynthesis. Today, they’re responsible for locking carbon in the ocean and putting oxygen in the air.
Covid-19 cases are slowly increasing across the US for the fourth summer in a row.
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A prosthetic arm that connects directly to the nervous system gives the user fine control over the motions of individual fingers—just by thinking and trying to move.
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Current treatments for depression after giving birth are either slow to work or hard to get. The FDA is considering a new tablet that relieves symptoms within days.
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Snow is falling—but it doesn’t show up to replenish the river. In a drying West, researchers are racing to find out where it goes.
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When humans and a neural network viewed pieces of art, they all found the same images memorable. What those images have in common offers a glimpse into what fascinates the brain.
This summer's extraordinary heat is but a preview of what's to come: Humidity not only makes daytime highs more miserable, it extends the hotness through the night.
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Is the system of currents that runs through the Atlantic about to shut down, creating climate chaos? Depends on who you ask.
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Extreme heat and other weather events are driving bears closer to humans’ campgrounds and hiking trails—and that’s no good for either species.
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Patients with hairy tongue syndrome—which can also turn tongues black, brown, yellow, or blue—often report gagging, mouth dryness, or bad breath.
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A UK company cofounded by an astrophysicist combines AI with radar satellite imagery to keep track of vegetation, and eventually to make forecasts about its growth.
A small study showed that feeding deer a type of ivermectin reduced the number of ticks drinking their blood. (Yes, it’s that ivermectin. No, you shouldn’t eat it.)
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Maybe it’s a commercial jingle, a TikTok song, or a new summer bop. Here’s how to trick your brain into hitting pause.
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By early 2024, a tablet called Opill will be sold in pharmacies without a prescription, making it easier for uninsured and young buyers to access.
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Millions of years ago, retroviruses invaded the human genome. Today some of these viral remnants threaten the developing embryo while others fight to defend it.
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Flight delays, cancellations, and violent turbulence are becoming increasingly common as extreme weather ramps up. Things are likely to get worse with climate change.
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As glaciers retreat, methane-rich groundwater is bubbling to the surface. That may be warming the climate, accelerating the Arctic’s rapid decline.
A protein secreted by seemingly dormant cells in skin moles causes hair to grow again. That’s a big—and potentially useful—surprise.
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Creating a memory takes energy, and brains only have so much. A study using snails shows how they can be primed for future learning.
Plastic production is skyrocketing, pushing microplastic pollution to dangerous new levels. Now research shows even the Arctic is increasingly contaminated.
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Drugs like semaglutide—better known as Ozempic or Wegovy—could be lifelong treatments for obesity, but what little data scientists have suggests that people don't stick with them for long.
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The mosquito-borne disease was eliminated here long ago. Now “revenge travel,” global migration, poor public funding—and maybe climate change—could help it come back.
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An early experiment in older rhesus macaques suggests that an injection of klotho improves working memory. Could it one day help people?
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After decades of frustration, researchers have determined how an airborne scent molecule links to shapeshifting olfactory receptors in the nose.
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The spotted-wing drosophila is a threat to fruit growers across the US and Europe. Crispr could thwart the pest’s numbers.
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Poor air quality doesn’t just cause lung cancer. It may also be responsible for other cancers, strokes, diabetes, and more.
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Patients and clinicians generate huge amounts of data that could advance care. But turning the system into an R&D powerhouse means ripping up the rules.
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Early detection is crucial for treating eye disease. AI-enhanced eye scan analyses could spot warning signs quicker—and reach patients at scale.
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Virtual wards provide people with remote care and monitoring, allowing patients to go home sooner and hospitals to run more efficiently.
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Indian cities, afflicted by rising temperatures and poor air quality, are becoming hot spots of ozone pollution, which has proven a difficult problem to fix.
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The continent’s abortion laws are a patchwork of progress and setbacks. And for many, accessing the right care at the right time is still a lottery.
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Rescue teams are scrambling to find the sub, which has gone missing near the wreckage of the Titanic, before those aboard run out of oxygen.
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Humans rely on birds to eat insects, spread seeds, and pollinate plants—but these feathered friends can’t survive without their habitats.
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Faced with the difficult task of decarbonizing, some shipping companies are taking another look at a polarizing solution—nuclear fission.
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Here’s what to know about wildfire smoke and invisible pollutants, and how you can use your phone to decide whether it’s safe to spend time outside.
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Psilocybin is on the cusp of becoming legally available in Oregon—but not as a medical treatment.
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Stimulating the frontal lobes of sleeping epilepsy patients improved their recall of information—and may one day help treat Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s.
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A new technique could aid Hubble Space Telescope users, but the problem will get worse for observatories on Earth.
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More research is showing that moths are secret, critical pollinators, even of crops that feed humanity. Save the bees, but save the moths too.
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Water surging from the broken Ukrainian dam is killing animals, destroying habitats, and unleashing pollution. The effects may be irreversible.
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Canadian wildfires are spewing smoke into New York City and Washington, DC, threatening the health of millions. Welcome to the “Pyrocene.”
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The 100,000 Genomes Project has a massive database to help doctors and patients solve baffling medical cases and diagnose cancers.
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While weight-loss drugs are dialing down the urge to eat for many, others desperately need something that can convince their body to consume more.
Scientists just figured out that thousands of air quality stations have been accidentally gathering invaluable DNA data on local organisms.
A Sign in Space encourages the public to imagine what a real message from extraterrestrials might be like—and figure out how to interpret it.
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The injectable weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy are already popular. Oral forms could lead to even more demand.
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Hospitals are evolving at warp speed, and autonomous surgical robots are just the beginning.
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Prolonged exposure to strobe lights has a psychedelic effect, which researchers are investigating as a way to heal the brain.
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The number of oceangoing birds has declined 70 percent since the 1950s, but restoring their populations can bolster marine ecosystems that sequester carbon.
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Scientists are “watching with bated breath” to see if ice will return to normal levels. The planetary consequences could be huge.
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Allergy rates are on the rise. Blame climate change and people’s urbanized lifestyles.
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Antibody treatments clear amyloid protein from patients’ brains, slowing the progression of their disease but potentially inducing deadly swelling.
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The spaceflight sets the stage for the aging International Space Station's private successors, and for an influx of paying customers.
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Fitbits and Apple Watches weren’t designed for people with atypical health conditions. But the tech can be extremely useful—with some creativity.
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Warming waters in the Pacific can trigger droughts, wildfires, and extreme rainfall around the world, potentially leading to $3 trillion in losses in the coming years.
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The first large-scale comparison of DNA mutation rates in 68 different vertebrate species gives insights into how quickly life can evolve.
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A startup used gene editing to make mustard greens more appetizing to consumers. Next up: fruits.
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Chill materials to extreme temperatures, and their vibrations show properties that could one day be exploited to create memory in quantum computers.
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The NASA team hopes the iconic spacecraft and its twin can continue taking data beyond the solar system past their 50th birthdays.
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Every year, thousands of pets develop tumors very similar to those found in people. Find drugs that work for canines, and human treatments should follow.
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In 2019 and 2020, the out-of-control blazes sent clouds of smoke across the Pacific, where they brightened clouds and cooled the ocean.
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The highest alerts are being unraveled globally. But with some 7 million people dead, there are hard lessons to learn from the pandemic—and a lot of work still to do.
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A new paper showing how water actually travels through a plastic membrane could make desalination more efficient. That’s good news for a thirsty world.
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Immune cells called monocytes are triggered to help clear infection—but in some cases they never switch off, leaving patients breathless for months. Read the story here.
The technique may finally be emerging as a way to preserve species at risk of extinction. Read the story here.
In a remote part of the Amazon, anthropologists and neuroscientists are learning about life and health without an “embarrassment of riches.”
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The Atacama Cosmology Telescope could help resolve some cosmic discrepancies: How fast the universe is expanding and how evenly matter is distributed.
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Increasingly severe heat waves will imperil the country’s development goals, slow economic growth, and heighten health risks, new research shows.
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Average sea surface temperatures have soared to record highs, and stayed there. It’s a worrying signal of an ocean in crisis.
Studying people who live well beyond the age of 100 could reveal the secret to living longer, healthier lives. But the statistics tell another story.
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Coastal lands are subsiding and losing elevation—a “hidden vulnerability” that’s making rising seas all the worse.
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The Japanese company Ispace could be the first to safely touch down on the moon’s surface, with more spacecraft following later this year.
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Renewable generation projects are set to make this future fuel widely available. And it’s much more versatile than you think.
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The algae Melosira arctica is the foundation of the food chain, and its contamination could have major consequences for ecosystems and the climate.
The court has given itself a deadline extension until late Friday night to decide whether mifepristone should remain legal.
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Scientists believe lasting symptoms following a coronavirus infection are not a single disorder. So new clinical trials are hunting for a range of solutions.
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The most comprehensive survey of how we share our microbiomes suggests a new way of thinking about diseases that aren’t usually considered contagious.
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The single-dose antibiotic regimen dramatically reduces transmission of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. But it doesn’t have the CDC’s blessing yet.
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A Fifth Circuit ruling that keeps mifepristone available, but curtails access to it, is the newest front in a battle over the FDA’s power to approve medications.
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Aquifer thermal energy storage can use groundwater to heat and cool buildings—decarbonizing homes and businesses in the process.
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Neoplants says its pothos has superior purification properties—but you’ll still need a lot of them to get the job done.
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New research shows that the cells’ garbage-clearing function deteriorates with age—and opens the door to reversing the process.
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With new satellites and programs, the agency is tackling air quality from all angles—for the health of people and the planet.
For the first time, researchers transferred them to the wombs of female monkeys, where the embryo-like structures produced a response similar to pregnancy.
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By recreating an early state of matter called the quark-gluon plasma, scientists hope to understand the conditions that made the universe what it is today.
Alice Pelton, founder of The Lowdown, the world’s first contraception review platform, discusses the power of equipping women with information.
Meat brewed in bioreactors is on the way, but it’s still too expensive. The solution? Add a whole lot of plants.
An innovative research project delivers new evidence about the challenging life of astronauts on the International Space Station.
Grail’s Galleri aims to screen for many more types of tumor than was previously possible. Large-scale clinical trials are underway.
Ice can trap pollutants and accelerate their breakdown, with troubling environmental consequences.
New research shows that seabirds’ ingestion of the pollutant scars their insides—a new disease called “plasticosis”—and may disturb their microbiomes.
As climate change makes storms warmer and wetter, the state’s flood control system is struggling to keep up.
Governments are ignoring calls to stop fossil fuel expansion—despite there being little time left to avoid the worst effects of global warming.
An energy-saving coating needs no pigments, and it keeps the surface beneath it 30 degrees cooler.
The hard electrodes inserted into the brain to treat Parkinson’s and paralysis damage the organ’s soft tissue. A new invention could change that.
The IPCC’s synopsis of the state of climate science warns that we’re running out of time to avoid ever-worsening disaster.
The US is proposing bold action to clean thousands of “forever chemicals” out of drinking water. It’s long overdue.
Researchers seek to develop advanced propulsion systems that can transform long-distance space exploration.
We asked experts how to craft a more intentional, peace-filled ritual to support a better night’s sleep.
A new experiment pulled off the most precise measurement of an electron’s self-generated magnetic field—and the universe’s subatomic model is at stake.
Relativity Space’s attempt to reach orbit heralds the increasing use of 3D printing in the space sector.
It’s cellular immunity, not antibodies, that probably protects against the coronavirus’s worst effects—and scientists haven’t worked out how long it lasts.
Avian influenza has killed millions of birds. Shots to prevent it already exist. Why isn’t the entire poultry industry using them?
Scientists investigated a weird feature in Parker Solar Probe data—and may have discovered what drives the plasma that pervades the solar system.
New modeling estimates that food production could add a degree Celsius to global warming. But it also points to powerful ways to make diets more sustainable.
Faced with extreme drought, Kenya’s president approved a controversial new crop for farmers. Then the legal backlash began.
About a dozen such consumer tests are now on the market, but the science of reading DNA for insights about longevity is still young.
Startups rush to gain a foothold in a burgeoning industry as New York and California move to legalize human composting.
One million species are at risk of extinction, but a handful of charismatic creatures get all the hype. A new conservation strategy has a different focus.
New research shows that if done right, urban farms and gardens can support all kinds of species—for the good of people and the environment.
Atomic weapons are complex, sensitive, and often pretty old. With testing banned, countries have to rely on good simulations to trust their weapons work.
In a factory on the outskirts of Glasgow, aerospace manufacturer Skyrora is building rockets for a space-bound taxi service for satellites.
Electrical stimulation applied to the spinal cord temporarily restored arm and hand movement in two patients.
The student winners of a NASA competition designed a serpentine bot that could sidewind across lunar regolith or roll down hills.
Audacious plans to resurrect the long-extinct bird could be lucrative. But the moonshot raises thorny philosophical questions.
The European Space Agency is exploring a unique way to dramatically cut carbon emissions by tapping sunlight closer to the source.
Many are celebrating Australia’s decision to pave the way for these psychedelic therapies, but questions around accessibility remain.
Scientists have uncovered the Roman recipe for self-repairing cement—which could massively reduce the carbon footprint of the material today.
Biological amino acids could have celestial or terrestrial roots. An experiment simulated their formation in deep space—but the mystery isn’t solved yet.
A simultaneous solution to California’s extreme drought and flooding is to bank more water underground. Send in the choppers (and a few ATVs).
When a warm band of water develops in the Pacific, drought grips the rainforest. The Amazon, devastated by deforestation and fires, is especially vulnerable.
These tiny organoids with working immune systems mimic the function of the GI tract and could be used to study intestinal diseases and drugs to treat them.
The largest catalog ever collected by a single telescope maps Earth’s 3 billion stellar neighbors—and helps track the dust that warps how we see them.
Half of the globe’s crop productivity comes from a key fertilizer ingredient that’s non-renewable—and literally washing away.
In France, a plan to cover swaths of asphalt with photovoltaics will bring renewable energy even closer to urban areas where it’s needed.
If you agree to provide some of your car’s battery power in times of high energy demand, you’ll get paid, and help make the grid more stable.
The space agency gave money to researchers working on liquid telescope mirrors, a lunar oxygen pipeline, and Martian building blocks made of fungi.
Focusing wasn’t much easier in the time before electricity or on-demand TV. In fact, you probably have a lot in common with these super-distracted monks.
Fakery spans “beautified” data, photoshopped images, and “paper mills.” Experts and institutions are employing tools to spot deceptive research and mitigate its reach.
Digitized archaeology is making souterrains—subterranean passages in the Highlands—accessible in a way Indiana Jones could only dream of.
One year later, researchers are still marveling at the power of the Hunga Tonga explosion—and wondering how to monitor hundreds of other undersea volcanoes.
Climate change is straining the world’s two favorite coffee species. Could a resilient 19th-century alternative solve the brew’s existential crisis?
The state is ping-ponging between severe drought and catastrophic flooding. The solution to both? Making the landscape spongier.
Need to estimate, from trillions of miles away, how likely another world is to host life? There’s a flowchart for that.
Lab animals have long borne the brunt of drug safety trials. A new law allows drugmakers to use miniature tissue models or "organs on chips" instead.
The hottest West Coast tech 16,000 years ago was a “projectile point” for hunting game. Though tiny, the artifact tells an outsize tale.
ClientEarth helps shape new laws and enforce old ones to protect the planet and its most vulnerable inhabitants.
World Weather Attribution ties disasters and extreme conditions to climate change—providing crucial leverage for legal and policy battles.
A new study shows that as temperatures drop, nasal cells release fewer of the tiny protectors that bind and neutralize invading germs.
Flu meds and prescription drugs have been in short supply all winter—but the problem goes back over a decade.
Data from Sweden and the US suggests cash incentives increase uptake without denting people’s trust in vaccines or future willingness to get them.
Last year was one of the warmest measured, say NASA and NOAA. It would have been even more sweltering if not for La Niña, which will soon fade away.
Space agencies and companies aim to send people to the Red Planet. But settling there would be hell on—well, you know what we mean.
Some environmentalists warn the planet can’t handle so many people, but we may need to rethink our approach to rising populations.
2022 was a breakthrough year for xenotransplantation, a procedure that could be a lifeline for patients in desperate need of a donor.
Holiday feasts tend to be salt-heavy—but early animal experiments are finding that overindulging in the condiment could take an emotional toll.
Instead of cutting out chunks of the genome to disable malfunctioning genes, base editing makes a smaller, more precise swap.
The epidemic has largely subsided, but largely because queer men seem to have learned more from AIDS and Covid-19 than the authorities did.
Europe’s energy crisis is forcing companies to switch strategies or close down. The industry’s future hangs in the balance.
Vast swathes of the country have been vindictively laced with explosives, threatening the civilian population both physically and mentally.
Whale-sized shonisaurs dominated the ocean 230 million years ago. A fossil cluster offers a fascinating glimpse at how they lived—based on where they died.
Growing crops to make plastic could theoretically reduce reliance on fossil fuels and even pull carbon out of the atmosphere, but at an enormous environmental cost.
The answer explains why electric cars are everywhere, but electric aircraft are still a novelty.
Big Data, drones, diagnostics—the United Nations and other groups hope to innovate the world out of a maternal and reproductive health crisis.
During the coronavirus lockdowns, emissions of the potent greenhouse gas somehow soared. The culprit wasn't humans—but the Earth itself.
An experiment at the Large Hadron Collider suggests there’s a chance of catching this elusive evidence as it floats through our galactic neighborhood.
Internet-connected thermometers can quickly show how influenza is spreading—so measures to control the disease can be targeted more effectively.
US nuclear scientists have achieved the long-sought goal of a fusion ignition—but don't expect this clean technology to power the grid yet.
A briefcase-sized satellite will ping lasers at the lunar South Pole to locate ice and map it for future human explorers.
The craft survived a 26-day voyage and a scorching descent. Now it’s time for NASA engineers to learn what went wrong—and what went right.
Physicists study starlight to find whether the fine structure constant, whose value makes our universe possible, really is the same everywhere.
Fentanyl-related substances have a bad reputation, but they could also save lives. In the US, a legislative battle to expedite research is heating up.
How did a lunch last underwater for 10 months? The answer relates to how carbon moves in the deep sea, and has implications for fighting climate change.
Audiology screening can be inaccessible for kids in low-resource areas. By utilizing off-the-shelf products, these scientists are trying to change that.
Flexible e-skins could be used to measure wearers’ blood pressure, temperature, and oxygen levels in real time, assisting with diagnoses and health care.
Gene therapies promise long-term relief from intractable diseases—if insurers agree to pony up.
Medtech firm Earli is working on a way to make tumors announce themselves as they appear—and even provide directions to where they are in the body.
Interstellar Lab’s inflatable BioPod is designed to help plants survive inhospitable conditions on Earth and allow explorers to settle on the Red Planet.
As carbon concentrations rise, conditions are becoming more like they were 3 million years ago, when the area was wetter and the rain was heavier.
The fuel can be produced by adding bacteria to spent drill holes—meaning there are thousands of potential hydrogen sources worldwide.
For years, potential therapies that attack this brain protein have failed to help patients in clinical trials. Now—surprisingly—a new drug shows promise.
Indoor agriculture promises to massively reduce the water and land needed to support crops. But at the moment, it only works for a tiny percentage of foods.
By firing pulses quintillionths of a second long, physicists study the fleeting motion of an electron leaving two bonded atoms.
New evidence indicates that an effort to stamp out disease-carrying insects is working. The key? Mosquitoes genetically engineered to kill off their own kind.
New evidence indicates that an effort to stamp out disease-carrying insects is working. The key? Mosquitoes genetically engineered to kill off their own kind.
Fossil fuels are rapidly heating the planet, but their aerosols also help cool it. Just how much, though, is a major uncertainty in climate science.
The moniker, which honors a former agency administrator accused of enforcing anti-LGBTQ policies, has long been controversial.
Any smartphone in any car can pick up a span’s unique vibrations. Tracking how that changes over time reveals hidden structural problems.
The sprawling mass of suburbia has been a disaster for the environment. But now smaller, denser cities herald a renaissance in city living.
Despite efforts to reduce emissions, the 2022 FIFA tournament is highly carbon-intensive. And its road to net-zero relies on questionable carbon credits.
After 30 years of talk about forcing wealthy polluters to compensate those bearing the brunt of climate damage, the COP27 conference seems poised to act.
After 30 years of talk about forcing wealthy polluters to compensate those bearing the brunt of climate damage, the COP27 conference seems poised to act.
Many people haven’t been exposed to common respiratory viruses following the pandemic, meaning they might be more vulnerable to getting ill this year.
Many people haven’t been exposed to common respiratory viruses following the pandemic, meaning they might be more vulnerable to getting ill this year.
A small study of people with a rare disorder that prevents them from processing protein is an early attempt at creating “living” medicines.
A small study of people with a rare disorder that prevents them from processing protein is an early attempt at creating “living” medicines.
In a small study, researchers modified patients’ immune cells to target their particular cancer—but it only worked for a third of volunteers.
In a small study, researchers modified patients’ immune cells to target their particular cancer—but it only worked for a third of volunteers.
It doesn’t take stampeding or unruly behavior to result in massive tragedies like the one in Itaewon.
It doesn’t take stampeding or unruly behavior to result in massive tragedies like the one in Itaewon.
Chemists have long conceptualized tiny machines that could fabricate drugs, plastics, and other polymers that are hard to build with bigger tools.
Scientists have already begun to observe the ecological effects of acidifying oceans on sea life. The changes ahead may be more drastic.
The US government is funding tech to determine whether genetic alterations in a virus or pest are an evolutionary quirk—or a lab-engineered danger.
Lubomila Jordanova explains how her carbon-reporting firm—Plan A—uses relentless data analysis to guarantee businesses aren’t greenwashing.
Climate change is disrupting delicate arctic habitats, which could unearth frozen viruses and transport them elsewhere.
Telescopes around the world are capturing photons from the blast, and researchers anticipate exciting discoveries ahead.
How shade is cast reveals details of the rugged lunar landscape, allowing NASA to create 3D models for astronauts and rovers.
A comprehensive mathematical framework treats these crinkles as elegant solutions to geometric problems.
Keeping rodents off Santa Cruz Island is an exhausting task. But now, conservationists are getting an assist from an AI-powered surveillance system.
In the future, remote-controlled quadcopters might mean that researchers won’t have to crawl inside volcanoes to collect carbon dioxide anymore.
The bacteria, which contaminate poultry meat, sicken 1.35 million Americans every year. But there’s very little the federal government can do to stop it.
East European governments are starting to distribute the tablets as a precaution, but there are limits to the protection they offer, and who might need them.
A new study finds no correlation between research and development spending and outlandish drug prices.
Scientists integrated tiny cell clusters called organoids with the animals’ own tissue, a step toward developing sophisticated mini-models of the brain.
Scientists are investigating why large animals like the mule deer of Wyoming go where they go—and how humans can get out of their way.
Sure, my telepresence robot had some issues—but for students like me who can’t make it to campus because of disability or illness, these tools open new doors.
These pollinators can help urban gardens grow. That will be critical for cooling cities as the planet warms.
Pathogens in soil are a danger to firefighters, but smoke may transport spores that cause valley fever and other infections into cities too.
A new study shows that cancer patients in precarious living situations are twice as likely to die from their illness, underscoring the harms of unstable housing.
A new and contentious five-year limit for getting rid of dead satellites could slow the growing orbital litter problem—if people actually abide by it.
An experiment tests whether the gene-editing technology can stop the virus from replicating, which would ultimately wipe out the infection.
The ‘Er’ grouping could help doctors identify and treat some rare cases of blood incompatibility, including between pregnant mothers and fetuses.
The Allen Institute’s release includes recordings from a whopping 300,000 mouse neurons. Now the challenge is figuring out what to do with all that data.
With human therapists in short supply, AI chatbots are trying to plug the gap—but it’s not clear how well they work.
Astronomers mourn the end of an infrared observatory that flew aboard a jumbo jet. It was expensive, but it saw what Earth-based telescopes can’t.
Illumina just announced a machine that can crack genomes twice as fast as its current version—and drive the cost down to $200 a pop.
Desertification can wear down ancient ruins or hide them under dunes—leaving researchers scrambling to keep track of where they’re buried.
As the Supreme Court considers the fate of American wetlands, Annie Proulx’s Fen, Bog, and Swamp offers an elegiac love letter to overlooked ecosystems.
Worries about polio, monkeypox, and Covid-19 are rising. Here’s how to gather your health information, even if you’ve lost the paper records.
The technique had largely been limited to editing patients’ cells in the lab. New research shows promise for treating diseases more directly.
The technique had largely been limited to editing patients’ cells in the lab. New research shows promise for treating diseases more directly.
Meticulous turf is environmentally terrible. Yet grass does have one charm: It “sweats,” helping cool the local area.
Meticulous turf is environmentally terrible. Yet grass does have one charm: It “sweats,” helping cool the local area.
A global fungal pandemic wiped out amphibians, destroyed biodiversity, and ultimately increased human illness. Now a second similar pathogen is on the way.
A global fungal pandemic wiped out amphibians, destroyed biodiversity, and ultimately increased human illness. Now a second similar pathogen is on the way.
Recent studies have revealed flaws in the heat index. With rising temperatures and humidity, maybe it’s time for a more holistic approach.
Recent studies have revealed flaws in the heat index. With rising temperatures and humidity, maybe it’s time for a more holistic approach.
Neurons get a lot of attention—but researchers think this star-shaped brain cell type could hold the key to treating some disorders.
Neurons get a lot of attention—but researchers think this star-shaped brain cell type could hold the key to treating some disorders.
The line to see Queen Elizabeth II lying in state is snaking across central London. Could it have been done better?
The line to see Queen Elizabeth II lying in state is snaking across central London. Could it have been done better?
A software update can help turbines become less disruptive to their neighbors and distribute the wind more efficiently.
A software update can help turbines become less disruptive to their neighbors and distribute the wind more efficiently.
Storing more water to deal with climate change seems like a no-brainer, but such reservoirs are complex undertakings with environmental issues of their own.
Storing more water to deal with climate change seems like a no-brainer, but such reservoirs are complex undertakings with environmental issues of their own.
The influential astronomer led the hunt for extraterrestrial signals and helped make the field of astrobiology what it is today.
The influential astronomer led the hunt for extraterrestrial signals and helped make the field of astrobiology what it is today.
The jacket can raise and lower its own hood—without chips or batteries—and might one day help disabled wearers move.
The jacket can raise and lower its own hood—without chips or batteries—and might one day help disabled wearers move.
Many people report that their aches and pains intensify when they’re trying to sleep, but new research into the circadian clock helps explain this mystery.
Many people report that their aches and pains intensify when they’re trying to sleep, but new research into the circadian clock helps explain this mystery.
Daniel Holz studies the universe’s ultimate catastrophes. And he knows a thing or two about existential threats on Earth, since he helps set the Doomsday Clock.
Daniel Holz studies the universe’s ultimate catastrophes. And he knows a thing or two about existential threats on Earth, since he helps set the Doomsday Clock.
Researchers are working on an injectable that could get dormant follicles growing again. Trials on mice show promise.
Researchers are working on an injectable that could get dormant follicles growing again. Trials on mice show promise.
Meltwater from the island’s ice sheet is loaded with the right kind of sand for concrete production—which further warms the planet.
Meltwater from the island’s ice sheet is loaded with the right kind of sand for concrete production—which further warms the planet.
The country is exploring cloud seeding, GM crops, and a multibillion-dollar water-transfer system to address its worst water shortages on record.
The country is exploring cloud seeding, GM crops, and a multibillion-dollar water-transfer system to address its worst water shortages on record.
Movable metal type is often traced back to Gutenberg’s workshop, but its history is far older in Asia. Researchers are using atomic-scale tools to rewrite the narrative.
Movable metal type is often traced back to Gutenberg’s workshop, but its history is far older in Asia. Researchers are using atomic-scale tools to rewrite the narrative.
A new paper argues that excitement has veered into misinformation—and scientists should be the ones to set things straight.
A new paper argues that excitement has veered into misinformation—and scientists should be the ones to set things straight.
Farmers have to apply heaps of emissions-heavy fertilizer to provide crops with enough nitrogen. Scientists are looking to legumes for help.
Farmers have to apply heaps of emissions-heavy fertilizer to provide crops with enough nitrogen. Scientists are looking to legumes for help.
In some of the world’s most inaccessible places, tiny satellites are watching—and listening—for signs of destruction.
In some of the world’s most inaccessible places, tiny satellites are watching—and listening—for signs of destruction.
Standardized time is broadcast by satellite networks around the world, but their signals are vulnerable to interference—so the UK is building a more resilient system.
Two Spanish towns have built a network of towers that douse surrounding trees with recycled water—stopping fire in its tracks.
In much of the US, donors aren’t obliged to disclose potentially inheritable health conditions. A proposed law could change that.
As students return to school, many will find restricted campus access to abortion services and information—and perhaps reproductive care in general.
Parched ground is less likely to absorb water and increases the risk of dangerous flash floods. But there are ways to mitigate these conditions.
Gases trapped in lunar meteorites hint that the moon was formed out of material displaced from Earth after a planetary collision.
Treatment options for lasting Covid symptoms are limited, but initial studies suggest hyperbaric oxygen could help.
Hi-res imaging can help determine cause of death in very young babies—giving parents answers without the distress of an invasive autopsy.
Researchers have found a new way to keep records of when a cell’s genes turn on and off—by harnessing systems that bacteria already use for self-defense.
Scientists are driving around in a specialized observatory to better understand how urban heat varies not only block to block, but door to door.
Individual choices and habits help the climate. Understanding how people think can make it happen.
The underground excavation industry is exploring mini robots, plasma torches, and superheated gas to replace the massive boring machines now in use.
The zoonotic disease is now spreading from person to person. But if it finds a home in new wildlife species, it could settle in to become a permanent risk.
A new system for keeping body tissues functional after death could help make more organs available for transplant.
In a new experiment, researchers looked for tiny flickers in the fundamental constants of nature.
Space fans around the world can help analyze data collected by the Mars Climate Sounder.
This summer’s heat wave knocked roads, railways, and runways out of action. But existing solutions could help shore up critical infrastructure.
Getting a scan usually means a visit to a doctor and some giant equipment. What if that gear was wearable?
Heavenly bodies are always in motion: Pushing back the asteroid probe’s blastoff date could require a new trajectory, longer travel time, and much more power.
The state plans to roll out “biosimilars” that mimic brand-name versions at a dramatically reduced price.
The strategy prioritizes inoculating an infected person’s closest contacts, but it can’t succeed without good contact tracing and enough vaccines.
Climate change is reducing output and raising safety concerns at nuclear facilities from France to the US. But experts say adapting is possible—and necessary.
Climate change has primed the landscape to burn. But human migration has made Europe’s wildfires increasingly catastrophic.
After 11 people were killed and eight hospitalized by a glacier in early July, Italian scientists are asking how future tragedies can be avoided.
Scores of bills in US states aim to block medical treatments for trans youth. But research shows that these bans could have dire consequences.
7/26 New data shows that several types of the shelled reptiles can slow—and even stop—aging if the environmental conditions are right.
The loss of sea ice is exposing darker waters, which absorb more of the sun’s energy. It’s a devastating feedback loop with major consequences for the planet.
Higher nighttime temperatures don’t just make it harder to drift off, they can disrupt your sleep cycles and leave you with low-quality rest.
As the world converts to electric vehicles and renewable energy, molecular tweaks to aluminum could improve its conductivity.
Air conditioning saves lives. But as the planet warms, more AC use stresses the grid and drives up emissions, accelerating climate change.
Sea cucumbers are squishy and soft. They also employ lethal strategies to protect themselves.
The deposits discovered reportedly contain enough resources to meet global demand for 1,000 years—surpassing even China’s reserves. But experts are skeptical.
A recent study suggests that gains during the summer breeding season are making up for losses during migration. But the insects’ fate is far from assured.
Under the Constitution, federal laws overrule state ones. But challenges to medication abortion will test the agency’s ability to make nationwide regulations.
Powering plant growth with solar panels instead of photosynthesis could be a more efficient way of using the sun’s energy for food. But it’s not all good news.
Scientists are getting closer to understanding the neurology behind the memory problems and cognitive fuzziness that an infection can trigger.
Scientists show how microbes living in a salty spring near the North Pole might resemble those that could have survived on the Red Planet—or in ocean worlds.
Genomic analysis of ancient remains has shed light on the origins of the black death and offers insights into the coevolution of humans and diseases.
Mars is littered with craters made by binary asteroids. These collisions are as intriguing as they are powerful.
From acoustic tweezers to holograms, engineers are taking inspiration from the field of optics—and riding the sound wave.
Hesitancy, bureaucracy, inequity, and the need to explain new formulas could slow down vaccine delivery to the last unprotected group.
Over 100 million women are estimated to use oral contraceptives, but studies on the pill’s mental health effects raise more questions than answers.
Climate change and natural variability are making 2022 a year of big weather events—so get ready for more heat waves, droughts, and hurricanes.
Mucus keeps the microbiome healthy. Now scientists have clues about how it stops good microbes from going bad.
Researchers say that the rising number of space launches around the world will warm parts of the atmosphere and thin the ozone layer.
In physics, experiments to answer the big questions can take decades to run—and might not produce any findings at all.
The economics are clear: Renewables are cheap enough for the country to rapidly decarbonize. Less evident is the political will to pull it off.
The newly elected government has promised stricter emission limits and more renewables in the wake of fires, droughts, and floods.
SpaceX must address dozens of environmental issues before it can upgrade Starbase in Boca Chica. The launch license needed for the Starship program remains pending.
Testing, vaccinating, and contact tracing can control the virus in Europe and North America—unless complacency allows it to take hold.
Scientists are using genomics to create high-protein soybeans and peas. Their aim? To make meat and milk substitutes that can rival the real thing.
Instead of deleting genes, epigenetic editing modulates their activity. A new paper tests if it’s able to undo a genetic effect of early alcohol exposure.
Researchers at the B612 Foundation’s Asteroid Institute developed a new tool for tracking space-rock trajectories—even with limited data.
A repeat encounter with Covid used to be a rarity. But now that Omicron has changed the game, expect reinfections to be the new normal.
When faced with food insecurity, studies show that people opt for cheap, energy-dense meals that are bad for their health.
Photons wander through snow like ants through a nest. That inspired a clever new NASA technique for measuring the fluffy stuff from orbit.
A Finnish company says it has found a way to incorporate bone into ground chicken, lowering the production cost and environmental impact of the meat. But will anyone eat it?
It doesn’t even work yet, but nuclear fusion has encountered a shortage of tritium, the key fuel source for the most prominent experimental reactors.
Early theories suggested an underwater landslide caused a catastrophic mix of magma and seawater. Recent evidence reveals an explosion unlike anything studied before.
Mifepristone and misoprostol are a safe and effective way to end a pregnancy, but many people around the world still don’t know these drugs exist.
Rumbles and tides create tiny, detectable disturbances in fiber optics. The world’s cables could form a vast network for detecting earthquakes and tsunamis.
By resolving a paradox about light in a box, researchers hope to clarify the concept of energy in quantum theory.
A long-term study of a marsh was meant to ask whether rising levels of CO2 could help wetlands thrive despite rising seas. The plants aren’t keeping up.
The electric vehicle revolution is gathering speed—but what happens to all those polluting cars already on the road?
Scientists have discovered “proto-peat” forming in the Arctic as the Earth naturally sequesters carbon, but it could take centuries to mature.
After the InSight lander studied the strongest marsquake ever detected, scientists gave the space robot a negative prognosis because of its dwindling solar power.
Two new studies found genetic mutations that cause severe immune deficiencies are common in some remote populations, leaving them highly vulnerable to viruses.
NASA’s EMIT mission will better analyze the grime from dust-spewing regions, a critically understudied factor in climate change.
The seedlings sprouted in the regolith scooped up in the 1960s and ’70s, but astronauts won’t be harvesting lunar spuds anytime soon.
Tiny wobbles in Earth’s gravitational field could help detect big tremors faster, but they’re hard to tease out from the planet’s seismic noise.
Researchers have created autonomous particles covered with patches of protein “motors.” They hope these bots will tote lifesaving drugs through bodily fluids.
The vast majority of tick-borne disease goes unrecorded, meaning life-threatening pathogens are traveling under the radar to new locations.
International experts are using earthly policies as models to hash out regulations for orbiting spacecraft, from preventing conflict to limiting trash.
The technique uses plants as fuel and sequesters the emitted CO2, removing it from the atmosphere. But scaling up would use gobs of water and land.
Climate change and human activity are destroying the layers of fungi, lichen, and bacteria that protect deserts from erosion.
Scientists have finally found Antarctica’s missing groundwater, which will help them predict ice flows on the continent.
If everyone ate just 20 percent less beef, deforestation rates by 2050 could be half as bad.
The nation follows the UK in permitting mitochondrial donation, which aims to prevent the transmission of rare but often fatal conditions.
Proposals for wind, solar, and battery storage projects are running into a logjam of paperwork and grid connection issues.
You can tell a lot about a tree by its sway, so scientists are outfitting them with accelerometers. That could help the West better manage its water.
Young children across the world are inexplicably coming down with the liver illness, putting parents and doctors on alert.
A startup just showed that its OncoK9 test accurately sounds the alarm for aggressive and advanced cancers. The catch? These often have no cure.
Graphite is made in blazing-hot furnaces powered by dirty energy. Until recently, there has been no good tally of the carbon emissions.
The open science movement pushes for making scientific knowledge quickly accessible to all. But a new paper warns that speed can come at a cost.
With clinical vaccine trials for everything from HIV to Zika, messenger RNA could transform medicine—or widen health care inequalities.
The autonomous aircraft have shuttled blood to rural, mountainous areas for years. A new analysis proves they’re faster than driving.
Rooftop solar panels are gaining popularity as the UK faces higher energy prices. But lower-income people are being left behind once again.
After three attempts to run through a test of the Space Launch System, engineers spotted a leak and a faulty valve. The fixes may delay the first Artemis moon mission.
Volunteers are rushing to provide online counseling, art therapy, and stress relief for the more than 2 million Ukrainian children who have become refugees.
The area around the defunct power plant has been an unexpected rewilding success story. Now attempts to monitor progress are hampered by the war.
Brigades of volunteers are coming to the rescue of thousands of Pacific newts that perish each year as they migrate to their breeding grounds.
Barriers are going up rapidly as border projects and livestock farming increase, but they impede wildlife migrations and genetically isolate threatened species.
The FDA has approved daily disposables that release anti-allergy medication. Experts hope lenses could one day help treat cataracts and glaucoma.
A microsporidian pathogen is annihilating tawny crazy ants, an invasive menace of the highest order.
Big businesses set splashy climate targets but don’t always reveal their data. The Securities and Exchange Commission wants to change that—to protect investors.
Changing the genetic makeup of trees could supercharge their ability to suck up carbon dioxide. But are forests of frankentrees really a good idea?
A new proof significantly strengthens a decades-old result about the ubiquity of ways to represent whole numbers as sums of fractions.
New research shows the snakes activate different sections of their rib cage, using their lungs as bellows to pull in air.
A cosmic fluke helped Hubble spy Earendel, a giant star at the edge of the known universe that could tell us more about what happened after the Big Bang.
Finding therapy and support can be confusing. Here are some tips on how to get help, from understanding insurance websites to keeping track of the bills.
For the first time, scientists get a look at what's going on under the park's geysers. It may even help them better understand the origin of life on Earth.
Researchers got the machine to run nearly 13 feet per second. It ain't graceful, but this powerful technique is preparing robots for the chaos of the world.
Observatories require electricity and computing power to process data from deep space. Is there a way to make them run greener?
Keep throwing noodles against the wall if you want, but this tactic ensures the pasta's texture is just right every single time.
While observing fearful memories take shape in the brains of fish, neuroscientists saw an unexpected level of synaptic rewiring.
Extreme weather, from floods to wildfires, is increasingly hammering ports, highways, and factories. It’s expected to get worse.
Hundreds of trials have been disrupted in the medical research hub. Some patients are at risk of losing their last chance at survival.
Astronomers tried to confirm a signal from the birth of the first stars after the Big Bang. They saw nothing.
Later this year, the agency will decide whether to allow four chemicals, which have been banned in Europe, to continue being used on US farms.
Millions of tons of grain may not make it out of the country this year. The shortfall could spread hunger and civil unrest worldwide.
Growing organoids in dishes and xenografts in mice lets scientists re-create a living person’s tumor—and test dozens of drugs against them at the same time.
Researchers observed chimps in Gabon applying insects to wounds—and it’s raising big questions about animal altruism and self-medication.
Satellites spot troubling signals that may portend a transformation from rainforest to savanna, with profound implications for the planet.
The island nation's government joins several other European countries in dropping Covid restrictions—but not everyone is sure the timing’s right.
A new study finds that turbines can muddle ships' navigational systems, obscuring the location of smaller boats or creating misleading images on radar screens.
Routine shots are down for everything from measles to tetanus to polio, leaving kids unprotected and raising the risk of outbreaks.
Most genetic research is done on people of European descent. That’s led to misdiagnoses, inaccurate tests, and missed opportunities for new treatments.
The UN's latest IPCC report paints a dire picture for the species of Earth. But it also suggests how urban areas can help humanity face down the threat.
The electrical chatter of our working memories reflects our lack of confidence about their contents.
Once nonexistent in the northwest part of the state, beavers are both benefiting from and changing a warming landscape.
Scientist and writer Camilla Pang explains what the rationality of science showed her about making better decisions, processing feedback, and feeling like an outlier.
Researchers ran an outdoor experiment to see if diesel exhaust and ozone would interfere with pollinators’ search for floral scents.
NASA plans to deorbit the International Space Station in 2031 by crashing it into the ocean. But is there another way?
Keeping wounds covered can help them stay clean. But if bacteria grow beneath the bandages, things can get dangerous.
Harvard researchers used lab-grown clumps of neurons called organoids to reveal how three genes linked to autism affect the timing of brain development.
In computer simulations, researchers have discovered that a neural network can infer the amount of matter in a whole universe by studying just one galaxy.
The Google-backed firm taught a reinforcement learning algorithm to control the fiery plasma inside a tokamak nuclear fusion reactor.
Alarming new research suggests warm seawater is rushing under the ice, perhaps doubling the rate of melting.
Thousands of years ago, hydrothermal vents fed worms deep below the ice. Scientists have found 300-year-old sponges feeding on the worms’ fossilized remains.
Some remote Pacific island nations haven't had a single case of Covid-19 for the past two years. Now they're reopening to the world, but can they handle an outbreak?
The International Astronomical Union launched a new organization tasked with limiting reflected light and radio interference from big satellite networks.
When species have babies with conspicuous fur, it can attract good attention—or bad. A new theory could explain why.
The same phenomenon by which an opera singer can shatter a wineglass also underlies the very existence of subatomic particles.
Some animals and plants are rapidly adapting to our warming, polluted world. How alarming that is depends on your perspective.
More than half of the sea now logs temperatures once considered extreme, threatening countless species, livelihoods, and the air we breathe.
Researchers are exploring whether tech giants can precompute certain data when the grid is humming with solar or wind power, then stash it away for later use.
As an errant SpaceX rocket booster careens toward the moon, here are some of the ways space agencies and companies are trying to deal with huge pieces of debris.
A study found that filtration membranes formed from SCOBYs are more effective at preventing bacterial growth than commercial equivalents.
Scientists and schoolchildren worked together to bring the tequila fish back from extinction in the wild.
These three families gave up flying to reduce their emissions. Here's how it's shaping their relationship to people and places.
As countries declare endemicity and drop restrictions, how does a battered and bruised society embrace a sudden return to normality?
While the space agency didn't actually develop Tang, its R&D includes everything from robot gloves to vertical farming—with commercial benefits back home.
The fast-moving pathogen, which has already invaded Europe, was found in East Coast ducks. The last outbreak that tore through the US killed 50 million birds.
The marbled crayfish is a threat to the native species, but the “Berlin lobster” may also offer a sustainable food source and help stop the spread of parasites.
These structures are a sci-fi solution to the problem of getting objects into orbit without a rocket—but you don’t want to be under one if the cable snaps.
Germany has almost finished phasing out nuclear plants, and aging infrastructure is leading neighbors down the same path. But will green energy goals suffer?
In the 1960s, drillers noticed that certain fluids would firm up if they flowed too fast. Researchers have finally explained why.
The effects of the climate crisis are happening right now. From natural disasters to supply chain shortages, here's how to cope.
New, high-resolution observations of a faint, fluffy galaxy suggest that dark matter’s not as ubiquitous as scientists thought.
Misinformation and muddled public health messaging have failed expectant parents. Now Omicron's surge is putting both carriers and babies at risk.
Thwaites Glacier is crumbling, and fast—if it melts entirely, it could add 10 feet to sea levels. Now Antarctic scientists are racing to survey the damage.
A new trend in patient-centered design focuses on making environments more comfortable and less scary.
Swiss forensic geneticists analyzed DNA recovered from postage stamps dating back to World War I and solved a century-old paternity puzzle.
Like every other aspect of our society, how we handle death and dying needs to change in the face of climate change. This method may be a path forward.
A mathematical model shows how a thermodynamic mechanism could have made protocells split in two.
Conservationists are teaming up with fossil experts to help the bivalves—and the state’s oyster economy—survive.
If you're looking to the future and wondering exactly how to prepare your children for a changing world, these resources can help.
The famous cartoon schemer has an ingenious plan to lure Bugs Bunny out of his hole—and it involves a giant magnet and an iron carrot.
The task of 2022 will be figuring out how much action we’re willing to take and how much disease and death we’ll tolerate.
Scientists at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory are using monitoring equipment to track our impact on the planet more accurately than ever before.
Soaring temperatures are rapidly thawing permafrost, leading to huge sinkholes called thermokarst. Northern fires are making the situation even worse.
Governments and companies around the world are finally acting to create a green economy and avoid climate catastrophe.
The pandemic should have been a wake-up call—instead, emissions have climbed once more. Here's how the US could have seized the opportunity.
Through his encyclopedic study of the electron, an obscure figure named Stefano Laporta found a handle on the subatomic world’s fearsome complexity.
Even ordinary actions, like tossing a tennis ball, can be extraordinarily complex to calculate. The trick is knowing what to leave out.
The chili peppers thrived in a controlled microgravity environment. But to develop agriculture away from Earth, NASA will have to think outside the box.
Studying how and why rhythm evolved in these primates could help unravel the mysteries of human musicality.
Creating bespoke cells could transform testing and help develop new treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Researchers have created jellyfish whose nerve cells light up when they fire, offering a tantalizing view of neurology before the rise of the brain.
Researchers have long wanted to capture how protein structures contort in response to light. But getting a clear image was impossible—until now.
Clean transport needs clean vehicles. New power developments are crucial for a mass transit revolution, and each has pros and cons.
Physicists have linked the “gravitational memory effect” to fundamental cosmic symmetries and a potential solution to the black hole information paradox.
Taupe and cream nurseries are in vogue right now. They’re beautifully beige, but some worry they might be bad for babies.
NASA is investing in Blue Origin, Nanoracks, and Northrop Grumman as they develop competing designs for a next-generation space station.
In an economically developing country reliant on tourism, the rapidly eroding “smiling coast” shows the urgent need for action on climate change.
We use video analysis to compare an animated liftoff to an actual one, proving that truth is more boring than fiction.
Nations around the world made a vital climate crisis declaration to save forests within the next decade. Can they actually do it?
Employer support for staff who wish to freeze their eggs has great potential—but broader support for parents still lags behind.
Acoustic waves can detect all kinds of explosions and volcanic activity, but it’s hard to place sensors at sea—unless you’ve got a bird with a backpack.
When ice goes, lichens and mosses move in and an entirely new ecosystem starts to take shape.
A 5-minute assessment on an iPad could transform how we screen for dementia—or overwhelm the health care system with worried test-takers.
At COP26 in Glasgow, negotiators can easily lose track of what day it is as they scramble to save us from climate chaos.
This is the science of why you can recline on an array of very sharp things without getting the pointy end of the stick.
An aerial survey in southern Mexico discovered a host of ceremonial sites that could date as far back as 1100 BC.
Our addiction to chemical pesticides comes with a bunch of downsides. New sprays made from RNA might offer a smarter, cleaner way to wage war on pests.
Saving California's adorable (and very hungry) sea otters helps control other species, leading to the growth of more carbon-sequestering vegetation.
It’s a 32,000-gallon concrete tank with a wind tunnel grafted on top. With it, researchers can study the seas—and climate change—like never before.
A first commercial test flight shows how fuel made from plants, not petroleum, could make flying cleaner.
Astronomers with the Breakthrough Listen project scan the sky for signs of extraterrestrial life, but a promising lead turned out to be a false alarm.
A new study shows that two captive birds had only maternal DNA and survived early development—a first for the critically endangered species.
A series of puzzling infections has been traced to the presence of a dangerous bacterium in an aromatherapy spray.
Fears of ecological disaster are real, but it's especially hard on people raising children. Here's what parents should know, and where to turn for help.
Fuel contamination forced the residents of Iqaluit to rely on bottled water—and now they're having a hard time getting rid of the plastic.
A study of trees, some over 300 years old, indicate that precipitation levels are up as much as 5 inches compared to the early 1700s.
Young people already know more than you might think. Here are some ways to approach the conversation, tailored for every age group.
A new model of learning centers on blasts of neural activity that act as teaching signals—approximating an algorithm called backpropagation.
Many young people feel like their future is in peril. To make progress on climate change, we must move past doomsday scenarios.
The pharmaceutical giant is making its oral antiviral drug widely available for all the world. But could Covid outsmart it?
Scientists used NASA’s Juno spacecraft to probe the massive storm, finding that it’s not as shallow as previously thought.
A blood test of “NfL” proteins answers questions about damage severity that doctors—and families—desperately need.
Tiny bits of plastic are swirling in the sky, and a new model suggests they could be subtly affecting the climate.
The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting a review and public hearings involving the space company's expanded site in Boca Chica, Texas.
Shooting a web from your hands requires Spidey powers. But does keeping your grip on one of them require Spidey strength?
RTS,S proves that shots can work against parasites. But to eradicate this disease, scientists say we need more than just one tool.
In the new scientific (and literal) field of agrivoltaics, researchers are showing how panels can increase yields and reduce water use on a warming planet.
The agency knows it needs to adapt to climate-driven events that will increasingly threaten coastal launch sites and other key space infrastructure.
African swine fever killed half the pigs in China. There is no vaccine and no treatment. Now it’s in the Caribbean and on the doorstep of the US.
Urban areas can be 20 degrees hotter than the surrounding country. But green spaces and reflective pavement can make city life more bearable.
Jupiter’s most enigmatic moon, one of a few ocean worlds in the solar system, will be the target of upcoming missions by NASA and the European Space Agency.
The massive deployment of wind and solar will turn you, the humble homeowner, into a critical actor in the operation of the US power grid.
Their incessant belching loads the atmosphere with planet-warming methane. But it’s not so simple as just feeding them gas-busting seaweed.
Researchers developed a probe that could help farmers better understand their land by measuring the electric current from the tiny creatures in the dirt.
Avid amateurs are generating a wealth of information on avian activity. But does that data reflect new trends in bird behavior, or in people’s?
A set of papers show that llama-derived antibodies protect the rodent against the virus—which bodes well for making a version for people.
A massive South Island stargazing reserve is a respite from light pollution for many species, including our own.
Just because something has the FDA’S green light doesn’t mean it’s simple to obtain—or that everyone wants it.
A new study of the American West shows that climate change is driving more days that are hot, dry, and windy—the perfect conditions for deadly wildfires.
A spate of studies claim that the disease was circulating in Italy long before the pandemic—but they struggle to support the theory.
A decade of work helped limit the spread of dangerous pathogens in medical settings. Overcrowding from Covid care is allowing infections to rise again.
Overfishing, habitat loss, and climate change are driving species collectively known as chondrichthyan fishes toward a global crisis.
Voice analysis of a 34-year-old recording proves that Ripper the musk duck “independently evolved” to mimic his human caretakers.
Dozens of microchips scattered over the cortical surface might allow researchers to listen in on thousands of neurons at the same time.
Human behavior has changed along with the virus and public health measures to contain it. For modelers, it’s a curveball.
Using cameras aboard the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, Japanese scientists get a rare, close-up glimpse of a space rock’s structure.