Science

Rats Learned to Hide and Seek. Scientists Learned Way More.

To study something as freewheeling, spontaneous, and variable as play, researchers had to get creative.

An ER Doctor’s ‘Third Way’ Approach to the Gun Crisis

Why violence demands not just policy solutions, but public-health ones

Kelp Is Weirdly Great at Sucking Carbon Out of the Sky

The start-up Running Tide wants to use kelp buoys to fight climate change. The plan might not work, but it’s still a preview of our climate future.

Vaccines Are Still Mostly Blocking Severe Disease

Our original-recipe shots are holding up against new variants. But we may need to improve them, and soon.

A Radioactive Gas Is Lurking Beneath the Permafrost

Cancer-causing radon has been trapped beneath the frozen Arctic soil for millennia. Climate change is setting it free.

Scotland’s Billionaires Are Turning Climate Change Into a Trophy Game

A net-zero land rush is sweeping the country, and both locals and wealthy “green lairds” are trying to buy in.

America Did Too Good a Job at Saving Canada Geese

Americans almost drove Canada geese to extinction; now they are so numerous, they’re a nuisance. What do we do next?

What the UFO Discussion Really Needs

Some context.

Frogs Keep Mating With the Wrong Things

Could humans be to blame?

The Clearest Account Yet of How Trump’s Team Botched the Pandemic

Deborah Birx’s Silent Invasion offers more detail and nuance than any other pandemic book.

The U.S. Is About to Make a Big Gamble on Our Next COVID Winter

Experts are expected to choose a vaccine recipe for the fall, when Omicron may or may not still be the globe’s dominant variant.

Behold, the Bottomless Pit Holding Everything Together

Astronomers have captured the Milky Way’s supermassive, mysterious abyss, 27,000 light-years from Earth.

Can Anyone Out-Plan a Pandemic?

Bill Gates has a strategy to save the world from the next infectious threat. He’s not the first.

The Democrats Really Are That Dense About Climate Change

The party doesn’t even seem to realize that it’s blowing a once-in-a-decade chance to pass meaningful climate legislation.

The Promising Treatment for Long COVID We’re Not Even Trying

Early anecdotes about Paxlovid’s effects on long COVID are intriguing, but no one’s testing them in clinical trials yet.

Man’s Other Best Friend

Domesticating horses changed humanity forever. Where and when did it first happen?

How Primate Research Was Hijacked by Sexist Ideologues

The shared history of apes and humans has long been put to political use.

‘Better Than Omicron’ Is Still Pretty Bad

Compared with what the U.S. saw in January, the current rise in cases so far looks pretty chill. Is it, though?

Americans Are Missing a Key Stratum of Modern Knowledge

To understand how climate change is altering our planet, it helps to know a little Earth science.

America Is Starting to See What COVID Immunity Really Looks Like

With time and effort, we can build enough protection to blunt surges—but herd immunity remains out of reach.