Sarah Zhang
The Fertility Doctor’s Secret
Donald Cline must have thought no one would ever know. Then DNA testing came along.
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Shelli Jensen / Shutterstock Beware the Medusavirus
A newly discovered giant virus turns its victims to “stone.”
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alexkoral / shutterstock The Cost of Not Knowing a Huntington’s Diagnosis
Some would-be parents who might have inherited the fatal gene want their doctors to keep secrets—even from them.
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MDOT SHA What DNA Hidden in a Plantation Tobacco Pipe Reveals
Archaeologists have started searching for genetic data inside ordinary objects such as pipes, which can contain centuries-old saliva.
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Steven Senne / AP An Abandoned Baby’s DNA Condemns His Mother
Sioux Falls police bring murder charges, based on a technique first used to catch a serial killer, in a 38-year-old case.
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agsandrew / Shutterstock The Twins That Are Neither Identical nor Fraternal
They shared a placenta, but on the ultrasound, one looked like a boy, and the other a girl.
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Lenny Ignelzi / AP The Real Cost of Knowledge
The University of California has broken with one of the world’s largest academic publishers. Is this the end of a very profitable business model?
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pavila / shutterstock Is DNA Left on Envelopes Fair Game for Testing?
The genealogist’s dream of testing old, spit-laced artifacts is coming true—but raising questions about who controls dead people’s DNA.
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Anthony Page The ‘Golden Death’ Bacterium Found in a Rotten Apple
This “spectacular” pathogen dissolves its host from inside out.
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Sergey Zaykov / Shutterstock Why We Think Cats Are Psychopaths
It’s just “resting cat face.”
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University of York The Lab Discovering DNA in Old Books
Even the beeswax used in seals is rich with data about the past, including the flowers that grew in that region year to year
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Aventis Pasteur MSD / Getty Images The Problem With Big DNA
It took researchers days to search through thousands of genome sequences. Now it takes just a few seconds.
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Bryan Wright / Oregon Department of Fish and ... The Feeding Frenzy That Got Sea Lions Into Deep Trouble
When the hungry animals started swimming 100 miles upriver to feast on salmon, humans decided that they had to be killed.
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Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty The 500-Year-Long Science Experiment
In 2014, microbiologists began a study that they hope will continue long after they’re dead.
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Pete Ryan What Life Is Like When Corn Is off the Table
Corn lurks in so many surprising places, from table salt to apples to IV bags.
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Peter Guttman / Getty Where Did the North Pole Go?
It’s moving, and the shutdown means that maps can’t be updated.
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Nicholas Kamm / AFP / Getty Trump’s Most Trusted Adviser Is His Own Gut
The president’s glandular instinct has become a substitute for all expertise and all nuance.
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Christina Warinner Why a Medieval Woman Had Lapis Lazuli Hidden in Her Teeth
An analysis of dental plaque illuminates the forgotten history of female scribes.
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Seth Wenig / AP Why Mandarin Doesn’t Come From Chinese
The name of the world’s most spoken language has a surprising origin story.
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Ipsumpix / Corbis / Getty Images The Genetic Legacy of the Spanish Inquisition
As Spain simultaneously persecuted its Jews and expanded its colonies in the Americas, conversos secretly came over to the New World. Their legacy lives on in DNA.
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Natalija Kashuba What Chewed-Up Gum Reveals About Life in the Stone Age
Chewed tar is an unexpectedly great source of ancient DNA.
