Feature
- Life
CRISPR had a life before it became a gene-editing tool
Before it was a tool, CRISPR was a weapon in the never-ending war between microbes and viruses
- Planetary Science
Competing ideas abound for how Earth got its moon
The moon may have formed from one giant impact or from about 20 small ones.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer cells cast a sweet spell on the immune system
Tumors have surface sugars that persuade the body’s defenses to look the other way. New therapies are being devised to break the trance.
- Neuroscience
Smartphones may be changing the way we think
We rely on our digital devices to connect with others and for memory and navigation shortcuts. What is that doing to our brains?
- Psychology
Nudging people to make good choices can backfire
Steering people’s decisions with simple nudges, such as e-mail reminders or opt-out programs, can come with a downside.
- Tech
Virtual reality has a motion sickness problem
Virtual reality games and experiences can make some people sick, and women are more susceptible.
- Health & Medicine
Instead of starving a cancer, researchers go after its defenses
There may be ways to block tumors from adapting and outrunning the body’s defenses.
- Chemistry
New, greener catalysts are built for speed
Researchers are designing catalysts to move chemical reactions without using precious metals, or at least using less of them.
- Astronomy
When a nearby star goes supernova, scientists will be ready
Scientists hope to detect neutrinos and gravitational waves from a nearby supernova.
- Astronomy
30 years later, supernova 1987A is still sharing secrets
The 1987 explosion of a star near the Milky Way 30 years ago set off years of fascinating findings.
- Earth
Devastation detectives try to solve dinosaur disappearance
Dinosaurs and others faced massive losses 66 million years ago from an asteroid impact, volcanic eruptions or maybe a mix of the two.
- Paleontology
With dinosaurs out of the way, mammals had a chance to thrive
The animals that lived through the great extinction event had a range of survival strategies to get them through.
