Science & Society
- Chemistry
Why once-gold ceilings in Spain’s Alhambra palace have purple stains
Moisture infiltrated flawed gilding at the iconic palace, leading to corrosion that deposited gold nanoparticles of the right size to appear purple.
- Microbes
Meet the fungal friends and foes that surround us
Keith Seifert’s book The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi explores how microfungi shape our world.
- Archaeology
Indigenous Americans ruled democratically long before the U.S. did
Oklahoma’s Muscogee people, among others, promoted rule by the people long before the U.S. Constitution was written.
- Science & Society
A new seasoning smells like meat thanks to sugar — and mealworms
A spoonful of sugars could help cooked mealworms go down more easily, a potential boon for the planet.
- Neuroscience
Sleep deprivation may make people less generous
Helping each other is inherently human. Yet new research shows that sleep deprivation may dampen people’s desire to donate money.
- Science & Society
Friendships with rich people may help lift children out of poverty
For poor children, forming connections to richer peers is linked to greater earnings later in life, researchers say.
- Animals
‘Murder hornets’ have a new common name: Northern giant hornet
Anti-Asian hate crimes helped push U.S. entomologists to give a colorful insect initially dubbed the Asian giant hornet a less inflammatory name.
- Health & Medicine
The world is ‘losing the window’ to contain monkeypox, experts warn
As the global monkeypox outbreak surges, the world is giving the “virus room to run like it never has before,” researchers say.
- Science & Society
In the battle of human vs. water, ‘Water Always Wins’
In her new book, environmental journalist Erica Gies follows people who are looking for better solutions to extreme droughts and floods.
- Science & Society
‘Virology’ ponders society’s relationship with viruses
In a collection of wide-ranging essays, microbiologist Joseph Osmundson reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic and calls for “a new rhetoric of care.”
- Anthropology
Demond Mullins climbed Everest to inspire more Black outdoor enthusiasts
Mullins hopes his successful Mount Everest summit will encourage more Black people to experience the great outdoors.
- Health & Medicine
College COVID-19 testing can reduce coronavirus deaths in local communities
Counties with colleges that did COVID-19 testing fared better against the coronavirus in fall 2020 than towns with colleges that did not test.
