Feature
- Space
What will astronauts need to survive the dangerous journey to Mars?
Going to Mars, astronauts will need protections from microgravity and radiation, plus miniature medical devices to diagnose problems and help handle emergencies.
- Planetary Science
How upcoming missions to Mars will help predict its wild dust storms
Predicting the weather on Mars is essential for landing and keeping rovers — or astronauts — safe on the surface. The next Mars missions will give forecasts a boost.
- Quantum Physics
To live up to the hype, quantum computers must repair their error problems
Before quantum computers can reach their potential, scientists will need to master quantum error correction.
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Special Report: Fighting the Virus
This special report investigates what it will take to regain some sense of normalcy: Safe and effective treatments and a vaccine, along with testing and contact-tracing systems.
- Neuroscience
How coronavirus stress may scramble our brains
The pandemic has made clear thinking a real struggle. But researchers say knowing how stress affects the brain can help people cope.
- Health & Medicine
As we wait for a vaccine, here’s a snapshot of potential COVID-19 treatments
Though a vaccine remains the ultimate goal, researchers are on the hunt for new ways to treat COVID-19.
- Climate
What lifestyle changes will shrink your carbon footprint the most?
You can reduce your carbon emissions, but the most influential changes will depend on your circumstances.
- Climate
How to protect your home from disasters amplified by climate change
How people can make their homes and communities more resilient to the effects of climate change, including floods, fires, heat and drought.
- Climate
What data do cities like Orlando need to prepare for climate migrants?
As researchers wrestle with how to anticipate future population shifts due to climate change, possible “destination cities,” like Orlando, Fla., prepare for an influx.
- Humans
It’s time to stop debating how to teach kids to read and follow the evidence
Most children need help learning to read, but there’s long-standing disagreement on how best to help them. Decades of research have identified the most effective approaches.
- Animals
Insects’ extreme farming methods offer us lessons to learn and oddities to avoid
Insects invented agriculture long before humans did. Can we learn anything from them?
- Environment
A year long expedition spotlights night life in the Arctic winter
Scientists anchored to an ice floe near the North Pole are investigating how life survives polar night and what changes will occur as the Arctic continues to warm.
