Science & Society
- Psychology
Boys experience depression differently than girls. Here’s why that matters
Boys’ depression often manifests as anger or irritability, but teen mental health surveys tend to ask about hopelessness.
- Science & Society
Humans exploit about one-third of wild vertebrate species
An analysis of nearly 47,000 vertebrate animal species reveals that using them for food, medicine or the pet trade is helping push some toward extinction.
- Paleontology
Paleontology has a ‘parachute science’ problem. Here’s how it plays out in 3 nations
When researchers study fossils from lower-income countries, they often engage in dubious or illegal practices that can stifle science.
- Genetics
Daphne Martschenko is a champion for ethical, inclusive genomics research
A bioethicist focused on the genomics revolution, Daphne Martschenko fosters open discussion through “adversarial collaboration”
- Animals
When and why did masturbation evolve in primates? A new study provides clues
In a first-of-its-kind comparative study, researchers show that primates were masturbating 40 million years ago and that the behavior may help males keep their sperm fresh.
- Science & Society
Anténor Firmin challenged anthropology’s racist roots 150 years ago
In The Equality of the Human Races, Haitian scholar Anténor Firmin showed that science did not support division among the races.
- Science & Society
Deliberate ignorance is useful in certain circumstances, researchers say
The former East German secret police, the Stasi, spied on people for years. But when given access to the Stasi files, most people didn’t want to read them, researchers found.
- Math
‘Once Upon a Prime’ finds the hidden math in literature
In her new book, mathematician Sarah Hart explains how math shapes all sorts of literary works, from nursery rhymes to Moby-Dick.
- Health & Medicine
San Francisco airport will monitor plane waste for COVID-19 variants
The airport, working with the CDC and a biotech company, will be the first in the United States to regularly test plane sewage.
- Math
How Pythagoras turned math into a tool for understanding reality
Reality was made of numbers, Pythagoras said, and he employed numbers to explain the “harmony of the heavens.”
- Health & Medicine
WHO declares an end to the global COVID-19 public health emergency
Global COVID-19 deaths are down and immunity is up. But with the virus here to stay, it’s time to shift to more long-term health measures.
- Genetics
What was Rosalind Franklin’s true role in the discovery of DNA’s double helix?
Two researchers say that Rosalind Franklin knowingly collaborated with James Watson and Francis Crick to discover the molecular structure of DNA.
