Feature
- Animals
Ticks are here to stay. But scientists are finding ways to outsmart them
Researchers acknowledge that there’s no getting rid of ticks, so they are developing ways to make them less dangerous.
- Psychology
A look at Rwanda’s genocide helps explain why ordinary people kill their neighbors
New research on the 1994 Rwanda genocide overturns assumptions about why people participate in genocide. A sense of duty, not blind obedience, drives many perpetrators.
- Materials Science
Perovskites power up the solar industry
Perovskites are the latest hot materials in solar energy production.
- Earth
How earthquake scientists eavesdrop on North Korea’s nuclear blasts
Researchers monitor the power and location of underground nuclear weapons testing by North Korea.
- Genetics
DNA evidence is rewriting domestication origin stories
DNA studies are rewriting the how-we-met stories of domestication.
- Anthropology
How humans (maybe) domesticated themselves
Prior to taming other species, humans selected for more docile traits among fellow Homo sapiens, a slew of recent studies suggest.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum computers are about to get real
Qubit-based machines are gearing up to solve problems that are out of reach for even the most powerful supercomputers.
- Astronomy
Life might have a shot on planets orbiting dim red stars
The number of planets in the habitable zone of dim red suns, known as M dwarfs, is growing. They’re a good place to look for life.
- Health & Medicine
Live antibiotics use bacteria to kill bacteria
Certain bacteria will destroy other bacteria without harming humans. They may be an answer to antibiotic-resistant infections.
- Health & Medicine
For babies exposed to opioids in the womb, parents may be the best medicine
A surge in opioid-exposed newborns has U.S. doctors revamping treatments and focusing on families.
- Health & Medicine
The opioid epidemic spurs a search for new, safer painkillers
Today’s opioids stop pain — but they’re also dangerous. Scientists are hunting for replacements.
- Archaeology
Chaco Canyon’s ancient civilization continues to puzzle
A dynasty may have risen from the dead in an ancient Chaco great house.
