Science & Society

  1. Science & Society

    How to detect, resist and counter the flood of fake news

    Misinformation about health is drowning out the facts and putting us at risk. Researchers are learning why bad information spreads and how to protect yourself.

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  2. Science & Society

    A few simple tricks make fake news stories stick in the brain

    Human brains rely on shortcuts to be efficient. But these shortcuts leave us vulnerable to false information.

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  3. Science & Society

    2,500 years ago, the philosopher Anaxagoras brought science’s spirit to Athens

    Natural philosopher Anaxagoras promoted the view that phenomena should be explained by natural processes, not attributed to the actions of the gods.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Meet three moderators fighting disinformation on Reddit’s largest coronavirus forum

    Science News spoke with volunteers about what it takes to correct misinformation online during a pandemic.

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  5. Science & Society

    The book ‘Viral BS’ offers a cure for medical myths and fake health news

    In ‘Viral BS,’ physician and author Seema Yasmin fights misinformation with a dose of storytelling.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    FDA and CDC OK resuming J&J COVID-19 shots paused over rare clot concerns

    The single-dose vaccine carries a low risk of rare blood clots in women under 50, but experts say its benefits outweigh that risk.

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  7. Science & Society

    Videocalling needed more than a pandemic to finally take off. Will it last?

    Zoom and social distancing ushered in the futuristic videophone fantasy AT&T wanted and consumers rejected for decades.

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  8. Science & Society

    A new book explores how military funding shaped the science of oceanography

    In ‘Science on a Mission,’ science historian Naomi Oreskes argues that funding from the U.S. Navy both facilitated and stymied marine research.

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  9. Science & Society

    50 years ago, the United States wanted to deflate the helium stockpile

    An attempt to dismantle the Federal Helium Reserve in 1971 failed. Fifty years later, the U.S. government is still determined to run out of gas.

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  10. Anthropology

    ‘First Steps’ shows how bipedalism led humans down a strange evolutionary path

    In a new book, a paleoanthropologist argues that walking upright has had profound effects on human anatomy and behavior.

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  11. Science & Society

    STEM’s racial, ethnic and gender gaps are still strikingly large

    Black and Hispanic professionals remain underrepresented in STEM, while women’s representation varies widely by STEM field, according to a new report.

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  12. Psychology

    People add by default even when subtraction makes more sense

    People default to addition when solving puzzles and problems, even when subtraction works better. That could underlie some modern-day excesses.

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