Anthropology
How to invent a realistic language for fictional speakers
Linguists can mix, match or even break the rules of real-world languages to create interesting imaginary ones.
Science & Society
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
More Stories in Science & Society
- Life
Talking dogs and chatty cats could one day ‘speak’ in our language
Advances in decoding animal sounds might someday make animal translators a possibility.
- Science & Society
Snippets of hair may expose chronic stress in war refugees
Cortisol in hair shows sharper differences in chronic stress among Ukraine war refugees than standard questionnaires.
- Science & Society
Pronatalists want more babies. Their solutions aren’t rooted in science
Conservative pronatalists want a return to the traditional nuclear family. But that family structure is at odds with how humans evolved.
- Science & Society
Social media can be addictive, a jury finds. Research hints at a link
Instagram and YouTube intentionally designed social media platforms to hook users, a landmark court case found. A pediatrician explains the ruling’s impact.
- Health & Medicine
Amid vaccine policy whiplash, here’s how a pediatrician talks to families
A court ruling that blocks Trump administration vaccine policy is a win for science. But much work remains to rebuild trust in vaccines.
- Earth
To make a ‘Snowball Earth,’ sci-fi moves fast. Geology is far slower
The Day After Tomorrow, Snowpiercer, Snowball Earth: Such end-of-days visions of a frozen Earth are fantastical … but can contain a snowflake of truth.
- Animals
Wild monkeys invaded Florida. Should people protect them?
A colony of African vervets in Dania Beach raises big questions about how humans can and should manage nonnative species.
- Climate
Why we fail to notice climate change
People quickly normalize extreme weather. Simple visuals highlighting abrupt change could help climate change break through our mental blind spots.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI auto-complete may subtly shape views on social issues
People are increasingly using AI auto-complete features when writing. Unbeknownst to them, that feature may change how they think.
