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Science

News and updates from the science team. Topics include genetics, infectious disease, psychology, and more.

Why did we think Neanderthals weren’t smart?
Audio
Unexplainable

Our earliest studies of Neanderthals were fundamentally flawed.

By Byrd Pinkerton
Why did we think Neanderthals weren’t smart?
Audio
Unexplainable

Our earliest studies of Neanderthals were fundamentally flawed.

By Byrd Pinkerton
The world’s most mysterious psychedelic is already inside your brainThe world’s most mysterious psychedelic is already inside your brain
The Highlight

DMT, “the nuclear bomb of the psychedelic family,” explained.

By Oshan Jarow
Wait, should I bother using antibacterial soap?Wait, should I bother using antibacterial soap?
HealthMember Exclusive

It turns out cleaning your hands is more complicated than killing germs.

By Keren Landman, MD
Why do so many young people suddenly have cancer?Why do so many young people suddenly have cancer?
Explain It to Me

When you were born is actually an important risk factor for cancer.

By Dylan Scott

The latest in Science

I got malaria on purpose and so can youI got malaria on purpose and so can you
Future Perfect

We need new malaria drugs — so I spent a year as a guinea pig.

By Dylan Matthews
Should we put pig organs in humans? We asked an ethicist.
Audio
Future Perfect

Xenotransplantation raises major moral questions — and not just about the pigs.

By Mandy Nguyen
Giving thanks may make your brain more altruisticGiving thanks may make your brain more altruistic
Future Perfect

Neuroscience is revealing a fascinating link between gratitude and generosity.

By Sigal Samuel
Only 1 percent of neuroscience faculty is Black. Kaela Singleton hopes to change that.
Future Perfect

Whatever you do, don’t call the Black in Neuro founder “resilient.”

By Celia Ford
America’s fractured trust in science, explained in 3 chartsAmerica’s fractured trust in science, explained in 3 charts
Future Perfect

Science should be bipartisan. Why is our confidence split down party lines?

By Celia Ford
43 lab monkeys escaped in South Carolina. They have a legal claim to freedom.
Future Perfect

Who owns the escaped monkeys now? It’s more complicated than you might think.

By Angela Fernandez and Justin Marceau
Why the Pentagon just can’t quit Elon MuskWhy the Pentagon just can’t quit Elon Musk
Defense & SecurityMember Exclusive

How Musk’s SpaceX became too big to fail for US national security.

By Joshua Keating
Why do we love to scare ourselves?
Audio
Unexplainable

This research group is studying our love for haunted houses ... at a haunted house.

By Byrd Pinkerton
DNA from wild organisms could save your life — but there’s a catchDNA from wild organisms could save your life — but there’s a catch
Down to Earth

Inside the extremely messy, profoundly confusing fight over who should profit from non-human DNA.

By Benji Jones
Is climate change really making hurricanes worse?Is climate change really making hurricanes worse?
Climate

What we know — and don’t know — about how global warming influences tropical storms.

By Umair Irfan
Colonial solutions to climate change aren’t workingColonial solutions to climate change aren’t working
Climate

What Indigenous knowledge could mean in the fight to curb global warming.

By Paige Vega and Joseph Lee
Your mind needs chaosYour mind needs chaos
Audio
The Gray Area

The human mind is designed to predict, but uncertainty helps us thrive.

By Oshan Jarow
Why we’ve been seeing the northern lights so often latelyWhy we’ve been seeing the northern lights so often lately
Science

Scientists are getting better at predicting the sun’s antics.

By Umair Irfan
Why don’t your psychiatric drugs work better?Why don’t your psychiatric drugs work better?
Future Perfect

Billions of dollars later, neuroscientists are still struggling to address the mental health crisis.

By Celia Ford
Why absolutely everyone is obsessed with Moo DengWhy absolutely everyone is obsessed with Moo Deng
Science

(And wait until you hear about Pesto the penguin.)

By Li Zhou
An alternative to antibiotics could work wonders in Africa. It isn’t being used.
The Highlight

Bacteria-eating viruses might be able to fight antibiotic resistance where new treatments are most needed.

By Jess Craig
Why Hurricane Helene is a wake-up call Why Hurricane Helene is a wake-up call 
Natural Disasters

This storm showed us how mega-storms are worsening. And how unprepared we are.

By Lavanya Ramanathan and Umair Irfan
Why the SpaceX spacewalk is such a huge dealWhy the SpaceX spacewalk is such a huge deal
Science

The mission tested lots of new technology for future, longer missions.

By Ellen Ioanes
Science has a short-term memory problemScience has a short-term memory problem
Future Perfect

Scientists are trapped in an endless loop of grant applications. How can we set them free?

By Celia Ford
Shrinking the economy won’t save the planetShrinking the economy won’t save the planet
Future Perfect

561 research papers in, the case for degrowth is still weak.

By Kelsey Piper
Animal testing, explained
Future Perfect

Is anything really “cruelty-free”?

By Celia Ford
Two astronauts are stranded in space. This one is jealous.Two astronauts are stranded in space. This one is jealous.
Audio
Today, Explained podcast

February?! Until February?!?! Boeing slip leaves astronauts in limbo.

By Sean Rameswaram and Avishay Artsy
SpaceX’s risky mission will go farther into space than we’ve been in 50 yearsSpaceX’s risky mission will go farther into space than we’ve been in 50 years
Science

The privately funded venture will test out new aerospace technology.

By Ellen Ioanes
The staggering death toll of scientific liesThe staggering death toll of scientific lies
Future Perfect

Scientific fraud kills people. Should it be illegal?

By Kelsey Piper
Big Pharma claims lower prices will mean giving up miracle medications. Ignore them.Big Pharma claims lower prices will mean giving up miracle medications. Ignore them.
Future Perfect

The case against Medicare drug price negotiations doesn’t add up.

By Dylan Scott
Antibiotics are failing. The US has a plan to launch a research renaissance.
Future Perfect

But there might be global consequences.

By Jess Craig
Why does it feel like everyone is getting Covid?Why does it feel like everyone is getting Covid?
Covid-19

Covid’s summer surge, explained

By Ellen Ioanes
Earthquakes are among our deadliest disasters. Scientists are racing to get ahead of them.Earthquakes are among our deadliest disasters. Scientists are racing to get ahead of them.
Natural Disasters

Japan’s early-warning system shows a few extra seconds can save scores of lives.

By Umair Irfan
Earthquakes are among our deadliest disasters. Scientists are racing to get ahead of them.
Natural Disasters

Early warnings save lives. A recent quake provides a helpful case study.

By Umair Irfan
The only child stigma, debunked
Parenting

Being an only child doesn’t mess you up for life. We promise.

By Charley Locke
We have a drug that might delay menopause — and help us live longerWe have a drug that might delay menopause — and help us live longer
Future Perfect

Ovaries age faster than the rest of the body. Figuring out how to slow menopause might help all of us age better.

By Celia Ford
Ditching factory farming can help prevent another pandemic
Future Perfect

The neglected environmental and health benefits of fighting Big Meat — for humans.

By Jonathan Safran Foer and Aaron Gross
These reviled birds of prey literally save people’s livesThese reviled birds of prey literally save people’s lives
Future Perfect

When vultures died off in India, people died too.

By Dylan Scott
Why two astronauts are stuck in spaceWhy two astronauts are stuck in space
Science

The Starliner test mission is just one of Boeing’s many woes.

By Ellen Ioanes
What if colon cancer screening didn’t involve poop?What if colon cancer screening didn’t involve poop?
Science

Blood-based biopsies could make screening less icky — if we can make them more accurate.

By Charlotte Hu
Storm chasing has changed — a lot — since TwisterStorm chasing has changed — a lot — since Twister
Culture

These days, anyone can follow a tornado, but you’ll want to leave that to the professionals.

By Alex Abad-Santos
How public universities hooked America on meat
Future Perfect

University scientists helped build factory farming. Now, some want to protect its “social license to operate.”

By Grace van Deelen
What if absolutely everything is conscious?
Science

Scientists spent ages mocking panpsychism. Now, some are warming to the idea that plants, cells, and even atoms are conscious.

By Sigal Samuel
How dangerous is it really to have a baby in America?How dangerous is it really to have a baby in America?
Health

The debate over maternal deaths, explained.

By Anna North
Noise canceling can help save your earsNoise canceling can help save your ears
Today, Explained newsletter

We’re probably all listening to music too loudly, alas.

By Caroline Houck