Artificial Intelligence
Can AI ‘feel’ guilt?
Research based on game theory suggests if we program AI agents with a sense of guilt, they could behave more cooperatively, much like humans do.
Science & Society
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
More Stories in Science & Society
- Humans
No, shaken baby syndrome has not been discredited
Defense lawyers have called shaken baby syndrome, or abusive head trauma, junk science. But doctors say shaking a baby is dangerous.
- Oceans
Deep-sea mining could start soon — before we understand its risks
The U.S. push to mine international waters for metals defies global efforts to control and protect these fragile ecosystems.
- Earth
NASA images may help track sewage in coastal waters
Sewage-contaminated water absorbs certain wavelengths of light, leaving a signature that can be detected by space-based instruments, a new study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Vaccine policy in the U.S. is entering uncharted territory
A key advisory group vows to base decisions on evidence, boost confidence in vaccines and protect health. Experts fear the opposite is happening.
- Space
Distant nebulae star in one of the first images from the Rubin Observatory
These are the first public images collected by the Chile-based observatory, which will begin a decade-long survey of the southern sky later this year.
- Animals
50 years after ‘Jaws,’ sharks face their own terror
Humans have driven sharks and their cousins to the brink of extinction. The health of the entire ocean is at stake.
- Science & Society
A Supreme Court ruling on nuclear waste spotlights U.S. storage woes
Court ruling allows interim nuclear waste storage in Texas, but the U.S. still has no long-term plan for its 90,000 metric tons of spent fuel.
- Science & Society
How attacks on evolution in classrooms have shifted over the last 100 years
Since the Scopes trial in 1925, Science News has reported on legislative attempts to undermine the teaching of evolution.
- Science & Society
Is nuclear energy good? A new book explores this complex question
Atomic Dreams explores nuclear energy's future in the U.S. through the history of Diablo Canyon, California's last operational nuclear power plant.
