The Pandemic Has Undone South Africa’s National Parks
Without tourism, the funding that sustains some of the world’s most treasured wildlife has atrophied.
Coronavirus Variants Have Nowhere to Hide
Our tests will need frequent touch-ups to make sure that no mutations get past them.
The West Can End the Water Wars Now
Far-right radicals in Southern Oregon are threatening to bust open an irrigation canal. Instead, the region could be a model for managing watersheds in a warmer world.
Move Over, Mars
After decades away, NASA is sending not one, but two missions to Venus.
Wall Street’s Skirmish With Exxon Is ‘Monumental’
Why a hedge fund’s successful assault on ExxonMobil matters
One More Reason to Admire Elephant Trunks
New research confirms that elephant trunks don’t just blow—they can also suck.
America Has a Drinking Problem
A little alcohol can boost creativity and strengthen social ties. But there’s nothing moderate, or convivial, about the way many Americans drink today.
Earth’s Underground Worlds May Run on Radioactive Decay
No sunlight, no problem.
What Breakthrough Infections Can Tell Us
Post-vaccination infections reveal how effective vaccines are—and which variants are sneaking past our defenses.
Can Electric Fish Talk Like Obama?
Yes, they can.
America’s Entire Understanding of the Pandemic Was Shaped by Messy Data
Our view of this crisis has been blurry from the beginning.
If Aliens Are Out There, They’re Way Out There
Real evidence of extraterrestrial life will come from a distant corner of space, not UFOs in our sky.
An Unorthodox Strategy to Stop Cars From Hitting Deer
Try wolves.
A Clue to Why the 1918 Pandemic Came Back Stronger Than Before
Three 103-year-old-lung samples hinted at how the flu mutated to become more deadly.
Big Bait Worm Knows It Has a Problem
Worm shipments are doing serious environmental damage, but the industry has been slow to adapt.
And You Thought Your Blood Pressure Was High?
Giraffes’ blood pressure is double that of most humans, but it doesn’t seem to faze them at all.
COVID-19 Vaccine Makers Are Looking Beyond the Spike Protein
It’s time for more weapons in the shots-versus-virus arms race.
The Never-Aging Ants With a Terrible Secret
A parasite gives its hosts the appearance of youth, and an unmatched social power in the colony.
The Body’s Most Embarrassing Organ Is an Evolutionary Marvel
And yet we have very little idea where anuses come from.
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.
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