5,018 results
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Of frogs and the people who love them
Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses frogs and chytrid fungus, trilobite fossils and a dinosaur named after the Norse god of mischief.
- Microbes
Evolutionary virologist Daniel Blanco-Melo seeks out ancient pathogens
Daniel Blanco-Melo has reconstructed two viral strains brought to the Americas with European colonizers in the 16th century.
- Neuroscience
Two distinct neural pathways may make opioids like fentanyl so addictive
A study in mice looked at how feelings of reward and withdrawal that opioids trigger play out in two separate circuits in the brain.
- Animals
‘Cull of the Wild’ questions sacrificing wildlife in the name of conservation
In his new book, ecologist Hugh Warwick seeks middle ground in the waging battle that is wildlife management.
- 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.
- Space
Clara Sousa-Silva seeks molecular signatures of life in alien atmospheres
Quantum astrochemist Clara Sousa-Silva studies how molecules in space interact with light, offering clues to what distant objects are made of.
- Environment
Federally unprotected streams contribute most of the water to U.S. rivers
A 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ephemeral streams aren’t protected by the Clean Water Act could have sizable ripple effects, a study suggests.
- Earth
Earthquakes added to Pompeii’s death toll
Broken bodies found at the archaeological site indicate that earthquakes played a role in the legendary tragedy.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI generates harsher punishments for people who use Black dialect
ChatGPT and similar AI sort those who use African American English dialect into less prestigious jobs and dole out harsher criminal punishments.
- Life
Young squash bugs seek out adults’ poop for an essential microbe
Squash bug nymphs don’t rely on their parents to pick up a bacterium they’d die without. They find it on their own.
- Neuroscience
‘Do I Know You?’ explores face blindness and the science of the mind
In her memoir, journalist Sadie Dingfelder draws on her own experiences to highlight the astonishing diversity of people’s inner lives.
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