Science & Society

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

More Stories in Science & Society

  1. Climate

    Life-saving research on extreme heat comes under fire

    The Trump administration’s cuts to heat research come at a time when climate change is making extreme heat waves more common and intense.

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  2. Science & Society

    Why do we feel starved for time? New research offers answers

    Interruptions, to-do lists, lack of autonomy — “time poverty” depends more on perceived shortages of time than actual ones, recent research suggests.

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  3. Science & Society

    If another country tested nuclear weapons, here’s how we’d know

    President Trump has argued the U.S. should test nuclear weapons because other countries are doing it. But scientific data suggest they’re not.

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  4. Artificial Intelligence

    As teens in crisis turn to AI chatbots, simulated chats highlight risks

    From blaming the victim to replying "I have no interest in your life" to suicidal thoughts, AI chatbots can respond unethically when used for therapy.

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  5. Artificial Intelligence

    A conference just tested AI agents’ ability to do science

    AI promises to speed up scientific analysis and writing. However, AI agents struggled with accuracy and judgment.

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  6. Science & Society

    Our relationship with alcohol is fraught. Ancient customs might inspire a reset

    As evidence of alcohol's harms mounts, some people are testing out sobriety. Look to ancient civilizations' ways for a reset, scholars suggest.

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  7. Climate

    As wildfires worsen, science can help communities avoid destruction

    Blazes sparked in wild lands are devastating communities worldwide. The only way to protect them, researchers say, is to re-engineer them.

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  8. Environment

    How a Yurok family played a key role in the world’s largest dam removal project 

    In The Water Remembers, Amy Bowers Cordalis shares her family’s account of the Indigenous-led fight to restore the Klamath River in the Pacific Northwest.

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  9. Chemistry

    Chemistry that works like Hermione’s magic handbag wins a 2025 chemistry Nobel

    Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi developed metal-organic frameworks, structures that can collect water from air, capture CO₂ and more.

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