Feature
- Physics
Calls to restart nuclear weapons tests stir dismay and debate among scientists
Many scientists say “subcritical” experiments and computer simulations make nuclear weapons testing unnecessary.
- 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.
- Artificial Intelligence
More brainlike computers could change AI for the better
New brain-inspired hardware, architectures and algorithms could lead to more efficient, more capable forms of AI.
- 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.
- Climate
Can geoengineering plans save glaciers and slow sea level rise?
As climate change melts West Antarctica’s glaciers, scientists are proposing bold ideas to avoid devastating sea level rise. Will they work?
- Health & Medicine
Toxic dangers lurk in LA, even in homes that didn’t burn
Urban wildfires like LA’s make harmful chemicals from burning plastics and electronics that can make indoor air dangerous for months.
- Science & Society
Do science dioramas still have a place in today’s museums?
Science dioramas of yesteryear can highlight the biases of the time. Exhibit experts are reimagining, annotating — and sometimes mothballing — the scenes.
- Health & Medicine
Better male birth control is on the horizon
Men have two birth control options: condoms and vasectomies. Why has it taken so long to develop more contraceptives?
- Earth
Another danger looms after the LA fires: Devastating debris flows
As wildfires burn the landscape, they prime slopes for debris flows: powerful torrents of rock, mud and water that sweep downhill with deadly momentum.
- Psychology
Survivors of the LA fires will face a complex blend of mental health challenges
Logistical needs, like employment and housing, along with psychological needs must be met after disasters like the LA wildfires, research shows.
- Cosmology
How we might finally find black holes from the cosmic dawn
After decades of study, scientists sound genuinely optimistic about the possibility of detecting primordial black holes, which might explain dark matter.
- Health & Medicine
AI could transform health care, but will it live up to the hype?
AI has the potential to make health care more effective, equitable and humane. Whether the tech delivers on these promises remains to be seen.
