Science & Society
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Climate
Buying carbon credits to fight climate change? Here’s what to know
Carbon credits sold on the voluntary market are under scrutiny for not offsetting greenhouse gas emissions as claimed.
- Health & Medicine
Brain implants don’t change a person’s sense of self. Hear why
In the fifth episode of The Deep End, volunteers describe what it’s like to live with the stigma of depression and the treatments they seek for it.
- Science & Society
5 years after COVID-19 became a pandemic, are we ready for what’s next?
We’ve learned a lot about COVID-19 over the last five years, but big questions remain. Recent federal actions may hinder the disease’s management.
- Science & Society
It’s ‘personal.’ What the Stand Up for Science rally meant for attendees
Stand Up for Science rallies in Washington, D.C., and across the United States drew crowds of people worried about cuts to scientific funding.
- Astronomy
Citizen scientists make cosmic discoveries with a global telescope network
On balconies and in backyards, Wi-Fi–enabled telescopes are connecting astronomy enthusiasts across six continents.
- Science & Society
Married men are doing more cleaning and laundry than in the past
Some scholars argue that efforts to equalize the time men and women spend on housework has stalled. An analysis reveals slow progress.
- Animals
How a puffin patrol in Iceland is saving the iconic seabirds
Light pollution disorients young puffins. The Puffling Patrol helps them find their way to the sea.
- Science & Society
Fired federal workers share the crucial jobs no longer being done
Thousands of probationary federal employees received termination notices. Many were doing crucial work at science-related agencies.
- Science & Society
Why some chaos-seekers just want to watch the world burn
A political scientist explains how a confluence of personality traits and perceived status loss can encourage some people to generate chaos as a solution to their woes.
- Humans
Biological sex is not as simple as male or female
A recent Trump executive order defines sex based on gamete size. But the order oversimplifies genetics, hormones and reproductive biology.
- Health & Medicine
‘It felt like dread.’ Hear what severe depression can do to people
In the second episode of The Deep End, listeners hear what it’s like to live with severe depression and the backstory of an experimental treatment.
- Science & Society
‘Uncertain, anxious, fearful.’ That’s the mood at 2025’s first big U.S. science meeting
Scientists are losing funding and even their jobs under the new Trump administration. Researchers at the AAAS meeting shared fears and coping strategies.
