Feature

  1. Animals

    How a puffin patrol in Iceland is saving the iconic seabirds

    Light pollution disorients young puffins. The Puffling Patrol helps them find their way to the sea.

    By Jenny Krumrine
  2. Climate

    Can geoengineering plans save glaciers and slow sea level rise?

    As climate change melts West Antarctica’s glaciers, scientists are proposing bold ideas to avoid devastating sea level rise. Will they work?

    By Douglas Fox
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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