Feature
- 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?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Life
The fruit fly revolutionized biology. Now it’s boosting science in Africa
African researchers are using Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies to advance studies of genetics, biomedicine, developmental biology, toxicology and more.
- Materials Science
A materials scientist seeks to extract lithium from untapped sources
Lithium is an essential ingredient for batteries in electric vehicles but getting enough will become a problem.
