Feature
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Environment
A biogeochemist is tracking the movements of toxic mercury pollution
Exposing the hidden movements of mercury through the environment can help reduce human exposure.
By Nikk Ogasa -
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.
By Anna Gibbs -
Particle Physics
A neutrino mass mismatch could shake cosmology’s foundations
Cosmological data suggest unexpected masses for neutrinos, including the possibility of zero or negative mass.
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Health & Medicine
A next-gen pain drug shows promise, but chronic sufferers need more options
A new painkiller nearing approval called suzetrigine may prove to be an opioid alternative. But for many with chronic pain, treatment must go beyond pills.
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Health & Medicine
A newly approved ‘living drug’ could save more cancer patients’ lives
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte, or TIL, therapy is the first T cell treatment for solid tumors. It fights melanoma and maybe other cancers too.
By Meghan Rosen -
Animals
A frog’s story of surviving a fungal pandemic offers hope for other species
Evolving immunity to the Bd fungus and a reintroduction project saved a California frog. The key to rescuing other species might be in the frog’s genes.
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Space
Scientists are getting serious about UFOs. Here’s why
UFOs have been rebranded as UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena). Probably not aliens, they might impact national security and aircraft safety.
By Sid Perkins -
Artificial Intelligence
AI’s understanding and reasoning skills can’t be assessed by current tests
Assessing whether large language models — including the one that powers ChatGPT — have humanlike cognitive abilities will require better tests.
By Ananya -
Climate
How powdered rock could help slow climate change
A method called enhanced rock weathering shows promise at capturing carbon dioxide from the air. But verifying the carbon removal is a challenge.
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Humans
Does social status shape height?
A controversial idea drawing on findings from the animal kingdom suggests there’s more to human stature than genetics and nutrition.
By Sujata Gupta -
Physics
The second law of thermodynamics underlies nearly everything. But is it inviolable?
Two centuries on, scientists are still seeking a proof of the Second Law and why heat always flows from hot to cold.
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Space
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope could help solve these 5 exoplanet puzzles
A lot of people are focused on signs of alien life, but the space telescope will have a lot to say about exoplanet geology and formation.
By Elise Cutts