Post-vaccination Inertia Is Real
Readjusting our ideas about what’s safe is going to take time.
Life Up Close
The Pandemic Is Undoing Field Researchers’ Oldest Assumption
With the right partners, scientists don’t have to visit their study sites to get good data.
The New ‘Right Stuff’ Is Money and Luck
Rich people are heading to space, and they’re changing what it means to be an astronaut.
How to Poison Feral Hogs (and Only Feral Hogs)
The animals are so destructive that they cost the United States billions every year, but actually doing something about it isn’t so simple.
The Surprise Hiding in the DNA of Pet Fish
Domesticated betta fish have evolved a sex gene not found in wild fish of their species.
Pay No Attention to That Cat Inside a Box
Seriously, stop it.
2050 Is Closer Than 1990
A pair of new studies on sea-level rise show that a crucial climate clock is ticking now.
A Milwaukee Suburb Is Full of Ultrarare Fossils
Ancient crustacean guts are miraculously preserved in a Waukesha quarry.
How Bowhead Whales Live for 200 Years
Size isn’t everything.
Don’t Fall to Pieces Just Because China’s Rocket Is
No one knows where the discarded piece of hardware might land, but there's no reason to panic.
The J&J Rescue Mission Starts With a Choice
The reputation of all COVID-19 vaccines hinges on improving perceptions of the Johnson & Johnson shot.
Scientific Publishing Is a Joke
An XKCD comic—and its many remixes—perfectly captures the absurdity of academic research.
Elon Musk Is Maybe, Actually, Strangely, Going to Do This Mars Thing
From his private Cape Canaveral, the billionaire is manifesting his own interplanetary reality—whatever the cost.
Cicadas Have an Existential Problem
The bacteria that live inside the insects can’t keep themselves together.
Why Ford’s New Electric Car Is So Important
I spent a weekend in the Mustang Mach-E, Ford’s biggest bet so far on a zero-carbon future.
A Bird’s Stinky Egg Is Actually a Humblebrag
Female hoopoes will paint their eggs with a brownish goo, in a bid for greater male attention.
Greenland’s Rare-Earth Election
A vote last month answered an important question about the world’s largest island.
The World’s Richest Men Are Brawling Over the Moon
NASA gave Elon Musk’s SpaceX a coveted contract for a lunar mission. Jeff Bezos plans to fight for it.
Why Dead Trees Are ‘the Hottest Commodity on the Planet’
Blame climate change, wildfires, hungry beetles … and Millennial home buyers.
A Revolution Is Sweeping the Science of Ancient Diseases
The study of DNA from millennia-old bacteria and viruses is revealing new secrets about the plague and other epidemics.
One Vaccine to Rule Them All
What if a single vaccine could protect us against SARS, MERS, COVID-19, and every other coronavirus-related disease, forever and ever?
Show Your Immune System Some Love
Antibodies are great and all, but macrophages, B cells, and helper T cells deserve some attention too.