Feature
- Science & Society
10 early-career scientists tackling some of the biggest problems of today
For the ninth year, Science News honors researchers in its SN 10: Scientists to Watch list.
- Cosmology
How did dark matter shape the universe? This physicist has ideas
Theoretical physicist Tracy Slatyer proposes new scenarios for dark matter and helped discover the Fermi bubbles.
By Adam Mann - Neuroscience
By studying the eyes, a researcher explores how the brain sorts information
Freek van Ede seeks to understand how the brain selects information to plan for the future. He’s finding clues in the tiny movements people make with their eyes.
- 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 - Computing
This engineer’s light-based computers take inspiration from the brain
Physicist and engineer Bhavin Shastri is working to create the first photonic computer modeled after the human brain.
By Claire Yuan - Quantum Physics
Why this physicist is bringing thermodynamics to the quantum age
Like a steampunk fantasy-world, which pairs high-tech with an old-timey setting, Nicole Yunger Halpern melds old and new science.
- Neuroscience
A cell biologist is investigating the balance of brain flexibility, stability
Andrea Gomez, a Berkeley molecular and cell biologist, applies her wide-ranging curiosity to brains’ mysteries ranging from synapses to psychedelics.
- Life
This biophysicist’s work could one day let doctors control immune cells
The Stanford biophysicist thinks that understanding the mechanics of cell movement could allow scientists to manipulate immune cells.
By Meghan Rosen - 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.
- 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.
- 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