Feature
- Neuroscience
Is taking birth control as a teen linked to depression? It’s complicated
As researchers sift through conflicting data, no clear answers emerge on whether birth control during teenage years can cause depression later.
- Math
How Julia Robinson helped define the limits of mathematical knowledge
Born 100 years ago, Julia Robinson played a key role in solving Hilbert’s 10th problem.
By Evelyn Lamb - Health & Medicine
For people with HIV, undetectable virus means untransmittable disease
HIV outreach and care in Washington, D.C., reveals the struggles and successes of getting drugs into the hands of those who need them.
- Health & Medicine
Mom’s immune system and microbiome may help predict premature birth
Analyzing patients’ immune systems, microbiomes and more, researchers find signals to pinpoint and halt premature labor.
- Ecosystems
Can forensics help keep endangered rosewood off the black market?
Timber traffickers are plundering the world’s forests, but conservationists have a new set of tools to fight deforestation.
By Edward Carver and Sandy Ong - Science & Society
This year’s SN 10 enjoy the journey, not just the discovery
Meet 10 young researchers who combine persistence and passion to make headway on science’s big questions.
- Chemistry
Brett McGuire searches space for the chemistry of life
The complex molecules Brett McGuire has discovered in interstellar space may point to the origins of carbon-based life.
- Physics
Andrea Young uncovers the strange physics of 2-D materials
Physicist Andrea Young has set his sights on the strange ways electrons behave in flat, layered structures.
- Health & Medicine
Seth Shipman recorded a movie in DNA — and that’s just the beginning
Seth Shipman is developing tools that may reveal hidden biological processes.
- Climate
Abigail Swann’s alternate Earths show how plants shape climate
Abigail Swann's studies reveal that water vapor from forests can affect drought patterns a hemisphere away.
By Susan Milius - Neuroscience
Maryam Shanechi designs machines to read minds
Maryam Shanechi creates computer programs that link brain and machine to one day help patients with paralysis or psychiatric disorders.
- Life
Michelle O’Malley seeks greener chemistry through elusive fungi
Michelle O’Malley studies anaerobic gut fungi, microbes that could help make chemicals and fuels from sustainable sources.