Feature

Animals

How bats could help tomato farmers (and the U.S. Navy)

The way bats navigate their environs inspires engineers to develop better sonar and robots that can estimate crop yield or deliver packages

Environment

The list of diseases linked to air pollution is growing

Air pollution levels have come down since the 1970s, but smog is being linked with a growing list of diseases, including dementia, obesity, diabetes and even Parkinson’s.

Artificial Intelligence

Machines are getting schooled on fairness

Machine-learning programs are introducing biases that may harm job seekers, loan applicants and more.

Neuroscience

Learning takes brain acrobatics

Brains that learn best seem able to reconfigure themselves on the fly, a new line of research suggests.

Psychology

Teaching methods go from lab to classroom

Cognitive researchers are finding ways to help young students to hold on to all the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in school.

Astronomy

As Cassini’s tour of Saturn draws to a close, a look back at postcards from the probe

As Cassini prepares to plunge to its death, we celebrate the spacecraft's discoveries and breathtaking images of Saturn, its rings and moons.

Health & Medicine

Birth control research is moving beyond the pill

After decades of research, reproductive biologists are on the verge of developing new birth control options that stop sperm from maturing or save a woman's eggs for later.

Astronomy

What will scientists learn from the Great American Eclipse?

Between now and August 21, astronomy writer Lisa Grossman will explore the top questions scientists will tackle during the 2017 total solar eclipse.

Animals

Ticks are here to stay. But scientists are finding ways to outsmart them

Researchers acknowledge that there’s no getting rid of ticks, so they are developing ways to make them less dangerous.

Psychology

A look at Rwanda’s genocide helps explain why ordinary people kill their neighbors

New research on the 1994 Rwanda genocide overturns assumptions about why people participate in genocide. A sense of duty, not blind obedience, drives many perpetrators.

Materials Science

Perovskites power up the solar industry

Perovskites are the latest hot materials in solar energy production.

Earth

How earthquake scientists eavesdrop on North Korea’s nuclear blasts

Researchers monitor the power and location of underground nuclear weapons testing by North Korea.