Society

Society

Animation shows a black-and-white voronoi diagram growing from points within a plane. Each “seed” gives rise to a cell, based on uniform outward growth from the initial point. The cells create a tessellation pattern over the entire plane.

Society

A light in the dark: Finding the good in the natural world

OPINION: Is it absurd to think that science can inform our values? Not at all, says writer KC Cole.

By KC Cole

Collage featuring photos of five endangered species.

Food & Environment

The deep roots and fragile future of biodiversity

Species are disappearing at least 10 to 100 times more rapidly today than extinctions observed over millions of years. A biologist says the answer is reciprocity — to give to the planet and not just take.

A woman eats, surrounded by images of comfort food.

Food & Environment

Why we crave ‘comfort food’

Nostalgia plays a big role in the meals that bring us solace — which mean we might be able to recondition ourselves toward healthier foods that still soothe

Illustration shows a man standing in a forest and surveying outflow from power plant smokestacks in distance, tinged with red.

Food & Environment

The world has veered way off-target of its climate goals. Can we rebound?

Once global warming peaks, it could take centuries to cool things back down. But we can bend the curve by cutting fossil fuel emissions now.

A woman rings a bell as medical workers cheer.

Health & Disease

Life after cancer treatment is different. So are the health needs.

As the number of long-term survivors grows, doctors and patient advocates are working to improve post-cancer care

Black and white photograph shows a family group with one of the faces scratched out.

The Mind

The troubling rise of family estrangement

As more adults cut off their parents, a researcher calls for closer scrutiny of causes and effects, and suggests paths to reconciliation

Photograph of sandy sea bottom covered in round nodules. The light is dim and greeny blue.

Physical World

Mining the deep ocean

Renewable technologies need a multitude of critical minerals. The seabed could supply these riches. But at what cost?

A conceptual illustration of a person holding cradling her torso, which is colorful, glowing and special-looking.

The Mind

What is wisdom, and can it be taught?

Scientists are trying to name the qualities that make someone wise and figure out how to cultivate them

Conceptual illustration of a woman looking at her reflection.

The Mind

Brain, think on thyself

What the science of self-awareness can tell us about confident decision-making

Illustration of a guide pulling back a veil of trees, showing the path ahead, as another person walks through a forest.

The Mind

Looking for an ADHD coach? Choose carefully

As diagnoses surge, so does an unregulated coaching industry

Knobby pillars of salt in a mountain cavern

Physical World

The cataclysmic flood that wasn’t

Researchers have long believed that a sudden, massive deluge filled a dry, salt-filled Mediterranean some 5 million years ago. Turns out that probably didn't happen, but there was still drama aplenty.

Several white foxes sit in rows of small cages on a fur farm.

Health & Disease

Why disease outbreaks on Chinese fur farms are a serious risk to public health

Farming animals for fur is not only cruel but also provides an ideal environment for viruses to mix and cross over into humans

Conceptual illustration shows a woman standing by a wall adorned with an optimistic green graph of sales going up, while behind the wall is a man in a shadowy scene with a big dollar sign sneaking out a back door.

Society

Corporate crime persists in the shadows

Unlike violent crimes, there are no comprehensive national statistics on the serious misconduct of companies. Some see a need for change.

Society

Recreating the smells of history

Using chemistry, archival records and AI, scientists are reviving the aromas of old libraries, mummies and battlefields

Cartoon microbes on a winner’s podium are surrounded by others participating in various winter sports.

Living World

Microbial Olympics: Super-duper one-celled athletes

They race, they leap, they spin, they shoot. Meet the organisms for whom physical prowess is more than sport — it’s a matter of life and death.

Photograph shows a close-up of an Aedes aegypti mosquito perched on a leaf.

Health & Disease

Beating back the Aedes aegypti mosquito

Scientists are taking a multipronged approach to tackle this dangerous carrier of dengue, yellow fever and other noxious viruses

Fanciful drawing of scientific-looking apparatus, highlighting a variety of research that made the news this year.

Society

The science of green hair care

A push to move away from petroleum products — plus the perception that natural is gentler — has scientists lathering up new ingredients, from wood and fungus extracts to engineered proteins