All Stories
- Health & Medicine
The weight-loss drug Wegovy lowered heart attack risk in a large trial
Among 17,000 adults, those on semaglutide were less likely to experience nonfatal heart attacks and strokes or death due to cardiovascular disease.
- Neuroscience
Brain scans give clues to how teens handle pandemic stress
A study that followed hundreds of teenagers during the COVID-19 pandemic may explain why some people succumb to stress while others are more resilient.
- Health & Medicine
Why Huntington’s disease may take so long to develop
Repeated bits of the disease-causing gene pile up in some brain cells. New treatments could involve stopping the additions.
- Microbes
Evolutionary virologist Daniel Blanco-Melo seeks out ancient pathogens
Daniel Blanco-Melo has reconstructed two viral strains brought to the Americas with European colonizers in the 16th century.
- Physics
Light, not just heat, might spur water to evaporate
In experiments, light shining on water as much as doubled the evaporation rate expected from heat alone, hinting at a never-before-seen effect.
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Scientific meetings — it’s nice to see you again
Executive editor Elizabeth Quill discusses the importance of covering scientific meetings.
- Animals
How hummingbirds fly through spaces too narrow for their wings
Using high-speed cameras, a new study reveals Anna’s hummingbirds turn sideways to shimmy through gaps half as wide as their wingspan.
- Environment
Grassland and shrubland fires destroy more U.S. homes than forest fires
Grassland and shrubland fires destroyed nearly 11,000 homes in the contiguous United States from 1990 to 2020.
- Climate
The last 12 months were the hottest on record
The planet’s average temperature was about 1.3 degrees Celsius higher than the 1850–1900 average, a new report finds.
- Life
Head lice hitched a ride on humans to the Americas at least twice
The genes of head lice record the story of their human hosts’ global voyages.
- Planetary Science
50 years ago, the first probe to visit Mercury launched
In the 1970s, NASA’s Mariner 10 became the first spacecraft to visit Mercury. Only one other probe has made the journey and another one is on its way.
