Science & Society
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
‘A Most Improbable Journey’ offers scientific take on human history
Walter Alvarez’s “A Most Improbable Journey” gives readers a tour of “Big History,” linking human history to unpredictable cosmic, geologic and biological events.
- Life
How to make a fish face, and other photo contest winners
The tiny face of a 4-day-old zebrafish embryo snags the top spot in microscopy photography contest.
- Genetics
HIV came to NYC at least a decade before virus ID’d
DNA analysis of early viral strains tracks U.S. debut to early ’70s
- Climate
Wanted: New ways to chill air conditioners, fridges
A new amendment to the Montreal Protocol will phase out potent greenhouse gases currently used in air conditioners and refrigerators, prompting a hunt for eco-friendly alternatives.
- Neuroscience
Frequent liars show less activity in key brain structure
Brain activity changed as people lied more, a new study finds.
- Science & Society
Blame bad incentives for bad science
Scientists have to publish a constant stream of new results to succeed. But in the process, their success may lead to science’s failure, two new studies warn.
- Science & Society
2016 Nobels: Science News fans read it here first
Editor in chief Eva Emerson discusses Nobel-winning science and what the future may hold.
- Humans
Tom Wolfe’s denial of language evolution stumbles over his own words
Tom Wolfe’s book denies that language evolved and attacks Darwin and Chomsky with smugness lacking substance.
- Genetics
‘Three-parent babies’ explained
Several in vitro techniques can produce babies with three biological parents.
- Ecosystems
‘Citizen Scientist’ exalts ordinary heroes in conservation science
Journalist Mary Ellen Hannibal’s “Citizen Scientist” tells tales of ordinary people contributing to science.
- Oceans
Atlantic monument is home to unique and varied creatures
A region of ocean off the coast of Cape Cod has become the first U.S. marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Science & Society
Sometimes failure is the springboard to success
Editor in chief Eva Emerson discusses scientific discoveries that resulted from failures large and small.
