Science & Society
Bamboo toilet paper intrigued me. Reality turned out to be messy
What makes a greener wipe? Researchers have more to say about bamboo's ecological risks, given limited carbon footprint data.
Science & Society
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
More Stories in Science & Society
- Artificial Intelligence
Struggling with a hard life choice? AI future selves have tips
A chat with aged avatars of future selves can guide people paralyzed by tough decisions. The question is what information to feed the bots.
- Science & Society
The golden age of language was a few thousand years ago
A few millennia ago, people worldwide may have spoken or signed up to 10 times as many languages as they do today.
- Health & Medicine
An experimental oral vaccine may prevent invasive bacterial diarrhea
Shigella causes about 450,000 U.S. infections each year. An experimental oral vaccine protected adults in a small human trial.
- Anthropology
Many universities hold seized human remains. What should they do with them?
Biological anthropologist Fatimah Jackson is leading an effort to prevent history from repeating.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI is not ready to fly solo in space
In sci-fi, AI can navigate the unknowns and — ideally — keep human travelers safe. But it’s not intelligent enough to do that yet.
- Science & Society
Here’s what happens when you put politicians in charge of science
Proposed federal rules would rely on political appointees to decide how a lot of U.S. science gets done. History shows the consequences of such actions.
- Science & Society
Lost in Curiosity reveals the messy reality of doing science
In her new book, science journalist Roberta Kwok takes readers behind the scenes to understand how researchers get nature to give up its secrets.
- Space
A shoebox-sized satellite could expose hidden nuclear weapons in space
There’s never been a good method to check for violations of the Outer Space Treaty’s prohibition of nuclear weapons in space.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI tools meant to vet science are surprisingly easy to fool
The gold standard of scientific review, peer review by researchers’ colleagues, is in crisis. AI might offer a solution but has problems of its own.
