Feature
- Science & Society
What 20th century science fiction got right and wrong about the future of babies
A century of science has pushed the boundaries of human reproduction even beyond writers’ imaginations.
- Earth
Mixing trees and crops can help both farmers and the climate
Agriculture is a major driver of climate change and biodiversity loss. But integrating trees into farming practices can boost food production, store carbon and save species.
- Climate
The first step in using trees to slow climate change: Protect the trees we have
In all the fuss over planting trillions of trees, we need to protect the forests that already exist.
- Environment
Why planting tons of trees isn’t enough to solve climate change
Massive projects need much more planning and follow-through to succeed – and other tree protections need to happen too.
- Health & Medicine
How Hans Berger’s quest for telepathy spurred modern brain science
In the 1920s, psychiatrist Hans Berger invented EEG and discovered brain waves — though not long-range signals.
- Earth
A WWII submarine-hunting device helped prove the theory of plate tectonics
With a boost from World War II, the fluxgate magnetometer became a portable and invaluable tool.
- Physics
Mathematician J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. was a Manhattan Project standout despite racism
Black scientist J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. made nuclear physics calculations that helped build an atomic bomb.
- Health & Medicine
Controlling nerve cells with light opened new ways to study the brain
A method called optogenetics offers insights into memory, perception and addiction.
- Health & Medicine
Solving mysteries of reproduction helped make parenthood possible for millions
Over the last 100 years, research has shed light on where we come from — how a single fertilized egg manages to develop into an organism that is unique, complex and most decidedly human — and technology has helped spur the process.
- Science & Society
How science museums reinvented themselves to survive the pandemic
The pandemic forced science museums to reach out to their communities, and some built a wider following.
- Health & Medicine
A repurposed TB vaccine shows early promise against diseases like diabetes and MS
The potentially helpful effect of the BCG vaccine on type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases is beginning to make sense.
- Archaeology
To find answers about the 1921 race massacre, Tulsa digs up its painful past
A century ago, hundreds of people died in a horrific eruption of racial violence in Tulsa. A team of researchers may have found a mass grave from the event.
