Feature
- Genetics
DNA databases are too white, so genetics doesn’t help everyone. How do we fix that?
A lack of diversity in genetic databases is making precision medicine ineffective for many people. One historian proposes a solution: construct reference genomes for individual populations.
- Neuroscience
Three visions of the future, inspired by neuroscience’s past and present
Three fantastical tales of where neuroscience might take us are based on the progress made by brain researchers in the last 100 years.
- Space
Solar storms can wreak havoc. We need better space weather forecasts
Solar storms can devastate power grids and other systems on Earth. We need better forecasting
- Health & Medicine
How 5 universities tried to handle COVID-19 on campus
U.S. colleges opened in the fall with a patchwork of control measures to keep COVID-19 at bay.
- Science & Society
Can privacy coexist with technology that reads and changes brain activity?
An onslaught of new technology aims to listen to — and maybe even change — your brain activity. Readers, scientists and ethicists grapple with the ethical implications of new ways to get inside the skull.
- Cosmology
Einstein’s theory of general relativity unveiled a dynamic and bizarre cosmos
Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity foretold space-bending beasts, cosmic shock waves and mysterious forces.
- Chemistry
Chemists are reimagining recycling to keep plastics out of landfills
Recycling plastics is really hard, and usually creates low-quality materials that aren’t good for much. Chemists are trying to change that.
- Science & Society
Marie Tharp’s groundbreaking maps brought the seafloor to the world
In part because of her gender, Tharp was the right person in the right place at the right time to make the first detailed maps of the ocean’s bottom.
- Earth
How the Earth-shaking theory of plate tectonics was born
Plate tectonics explains many of Earth’s geologic wonders and natural hazards — and may hold clues to the evolution of life.
- Science & Society
How schools can reduce excessive discipline of Black students
Black middle and high school students miss four times as much school as white children due to suspensions. What can be done to shrink the gap?
- Science & Society
What will life be like after the coronavirus pandemic ends?
Researchers offer a range of perspectives on the possible long-term social consequences of COVID-19.
- Science & Society
These 6 graphs show that Black scientists are underrepresented at every level
In the U.S., Black people are underrepresented in STEM fields, both as students and in the workforce.
