Feature

  1. Health & Medicine

    Toxic dangers lurk in LA, even in homes that didn’t burn

    Urban wildfires like LA’s make harmful chemicals from burning plastics and electronics that can make indoor air dangerous for months.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  2. Science & Society

    Do science dioramas still have a place in today’s museums?

    Science dioramas of yesteryear can highlight the biases of the time. Exhibit experts are reimagining, annotating — and sometimes mothballing — the scenes.

    By Amber Dance
  3. Health & Medicine

    Better male birth control is on the horizon

    Men have two birth control options: condoms and vasectomies. Why has it taken so long to develop more contraceptives?

    By Fred Schwaller
  4. Earth

    Another danger looms after the LA fires: Devastating debris flows

    As wildfires burn the landscape, they prime slopes for debris flows: powerful torrents of rock, mud and water that sweep downhill with deadly momentum.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  5. Psychology

    Survivors of the LA fires will face a complex blend of mental health challenges

    Logistical needs, like employment and housing, along with psychological needs must be met after disasters like the LA wildfires, research shows.

    By Sujata Gupta
  6. Cosmology

    How we might finally find black holes from the cosmic dawn

    After decades of study, scientists sound genuinely optimistic about the possibility of detecting primordial black holes, which might explain dark matter.

    By Elizabeth Quill
  7. Health & Medicine

    AI could transform health care, but will it live up to the hype?

    AI has the potential to make health care more effective, equitable and humane. Whether the tech delivers on these promises remains to be seen.

    By Meghan Rosen and Tina Hesman Saey
  8. Science & Society

    This ‘hidden figure’ of entomology fought for civil rights

    Margaret S. Collins, the first Black American female entomologist to earn a Ph.D., overcame sexism and racism to become a termite expert.

    By Susan Milius
  9. Animals

    Stray DNA is all around us. It could revolutionize conservation

    Environmental DNA harvested from the ocean, land and air can help scientists monitor wildlife. The challenge is figuring out how to interpret this eDNA.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  10. Anthropology

    How does a fossil become a superstar? Just ask Lucy.

    Geologic good fortune, skilled scientific scrutiny and a catchy name turned Lucy into an evolutionary icon.

    By Bruce Bower
  11. Archaeology

    A race to save Indigenous trails may change the face of archaeology

    As construction of a pipeline nears, an effort to preserve an Indigenous trail in Canada tests whether heritage management can keep up with advances in archaeology.

    By Sujata Gupta
  12. Science & Society

    Is U.S. democracy in decline? Here’s what the science says

    Political scientists disagree over how to interpret a slight dip in the health of U.S. democracy.

    By Sujata Gupta