All Stories

  1. Readers ask about the sun’s surface, landscaping Neandertals and more

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  2. Why aren’t we listening to what science is telling us?

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses how the last century of climate science has mapped our understanding of today's climate crisis and solutions.

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  3. Life

    Some E. coli set off viral grenades inside nearby bacteria

    A bacterial toxin called colibactin awakens dormant viruses embedded in bacterial DNA, but its ecological role is still unknown.

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  4. Astronomy

    Astronomers may not have found a sign of the universe’s first stars after all

    A new study of radio waves from early in the universe’s history finds no hint of the “cosmic dawn” claimed by an earlier study.

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  5. Space

    How Russia’s war in Ukraine hinders space research and exploration

    A Mars rover, an X-ray telescope and several low-Earth satellites are at risk in response to international sanctions on Russia.

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  6. Neuroscience

    A hit of dopamine sends mice into dreamland

    New results are some of the first to show a trigger for the mysterious shifts between REM and non-REM sleep in mice.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    How to interpret the CDC’s new mask guidelines

    Based on the CDC’s new metrics, most people no longer need to wear masks in most situations, but that could change.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Fecal transplant pills helped some peanut allergy sufferers in a small trial

    In a small study, a one-day fecal microbiota transplant allowed some peanut-allergic adults to safely eat one to two peanuts several months later.

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  9. Chemistry

    Marie Maynard Daly was a trailblazing biochemist, but her full story may be lost

    Marie Maynard Daly was the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry, but her own perspective on her research is missing from the historical record.

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  10. Science & Society

    ‘Fresh Banana Leaves’ shows how Western conservation has harmed Indigenous people

    Author and environmental scientist Jessica Hernandez discusses Indigenous displacement, conservation’s failures and how to improve the field.

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  11. Life

    Africa’s fynbos plants hold their ground with the world’s thinnest roots

    Long, thin roots help this South African shrubland commandeer soil nutrients and keep the neighboring forest from encroaching on its territory.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    How omicron’s mutations make it the most infectious coronavirus variant yet

    With its mishmash of mutations, omicron has a unique anatomy that has helped fuel its dominance.

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