Science & Society

  1. Health & Medicine

    Why pandemic fatigue and COVID-19 burnout took over in 2022

    As public health guidelines loosened this year, people were left to weigh COVID-19 risks on their own. It was confusing, frustrating and exhausting.

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  2. Math

    The metric system is growing. Here’s what you need to know

    Science News spoke with a metrologist about the metric system’s latest update, which will help scientists interpret exceedingly big and small numbers.

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  3. Science & Society

    These are our favorite science books of 2022

    Books about dinosaurs, the Milky Way and the coronavirus are among the Science News staff’s picks for must-read books of the year.

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  4. Animals

    A new book asks: What makes humans call some animals pests?

    In an interview with Science News, science journalist Bethany Brookshire discusses her new book, Pests, and why humans vilify certain animals.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Louis Pasteur’s devotion to truth transformed what we know about health and disease

    Two centuries after his birth, Louis Pasteur's work on pasteurization, germ theory and vaccines is as relevant as ever.

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  6. Science & Society

    Why fuzzy definitions are a problem in the social sciences

    Social sciences research is plagued by murky definitions and measurements. Here’s why that matters.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Need a fall read? ‘The Song of the Cell’ offers tales from biology and history

    Siddhartha Mukherjee’s new book, The Song of the Cell, explores the world of cell biology through the lens of scientists, doctors and patients.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    ‘Breathless’ explores COVID-19’s origins and other pandemic science

    In his new book, David Quammen examines what we’ve learned about SARS-CoV-2 and puts the pandemic in the context of previous coronavirus scares.

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  9. Computing

    Huijia Lin proved that a master tool of cryptography is possible

    Cryptographer Huijia Lin showed that the long-sought “indistinguishability obfuscation” is secure from data attacks.

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  10. Neuroscience

    Emily Jacobs wants to know how sex hormones sculpt the brain

    Emily Jacobs studies how the brain changes throughout women’s reproductive years, plus what it all means for health.

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  11. Science & Society

    Big questions inspire the scientists on this year’s SN 10 list

    These scientists to watch study climate change, alien worlds, human evolution, the coronavirus and more.

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  12. Psychology

    The pandemic may be stunting young adults’ personality development

    People typically become less neurotic and more agreeable with age. The COVID-19 pandemic may have reversed those trends in adults younger than 30.

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