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Astronomy

The Milky Way may have grown up faster than astronomers suspected

Most of the galaxy’s disk was in place before a merger 10 billion years ago with a dwarf galaxy called Gaia-Enceladus/Sausage, a new study suggests.

Health & Medicine

MDMA, the key ingredient in Ecstasy, eases symptoms of severe PTSD

By the end of the trial, 67 percent of the participants who took MDMA had improved so much that they no longer qualified as having a PTSD diagnosis.

Animals

The U.S.’s first open-air genetically modified mosquitoes have taken flight

After a decade of argument, Oxitec pits genetically modified mosquitoes against Florida’s spreaders of dengue and Zika.

Animals

Elephants are dying in droves in Botswana. Scientists don’t know why

Some type of pathogen may be behind the recent deaths of 39 elephants, a new wave that follows 350 deaths last summer.

Climate

Rivers might not be as resilient to drought as once thought

Seven years after Australia’s Millennium drought, water flow in many rivers isn’t returning to predrought levels.

Astronomy

A study of Earth’s crust hints that supernovas aren’t gold mines

Supernovas aren’t the main source of gold, silver and other heavy elements, a study of deep-sea crust suggests.

Neuroscience

Brain implants turn imagined handwriting into text on a screen

A person who was paralyzed from the neck down was able to communicate, thanks to brain-to-text technology.

Psychology

Small bribes may help people build healthy handwashing habits

Getting people to wash their hands is notoriously difficult. Doling out nice soap dispensers and rewards helps people develop the habit.

Health & Medicine

As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, we answer 7 lingering vaccine questions

As U.S. vaccination efforts shift to get shots to the hard-to-reach, we take a look at some big questions about vaccines that still remain.

Materials Science

Morphing noodles start flat but bend into curly pasta shapes as they’re cooked

Shape-shifting pasta could potentially cut down on packaging and save space during shipping.

Science & Society

Vaccine hesitancy is nothing new. Here’s the damage it’s done over centuries

Pockets of people have railed against vaccines as long as the preventives have existed.

Health & Medicine

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine recommended for adolescents by CDC committee

With the vaccine cleared for high schoolers and many middle schoolers, focus now turns to clinical trials testing COVID-19 vaccines in younger kids.