Science

There’s No Scenario in Which 2050 Is ‘Normal’

The two paths to avoid the worst of climate change would still dramatically change the world as we know it.

A Tick Bite Made Them Allergic to Meat

And an organ-transplant company has an unexpected solution.

Alert! Polar Bear Incoming

Arctic communities are now using radar and AI to spot polar bears before they become a problem.

The Cutest Thermonuclear Explosion in the Universe

Astronomers have captured evidence of a “micronova” on a certain kind of star.

Dimming the Sun Could Be Climate Science’s Trolley Problem

A popular idea to soften the blow of global warming might also make the world’s malaria problem even worse.

Remember Uranus?

You know, the seventh planet from the sun? It could use some attention.

What’s Wrong With Washington’s Oysters?

A mysterious culprit is ravaging their pearly white interiors with black blisters.

Have We Already Ruined Our Next COVID Summer?

A lot has changed since last year’s pre-Delta lull, but America can still reclaim some coronavirus-free chill—if it decides to commit.

Why Can’t We Just Call BA.2 Omicron?

Whatever happened to the simpler Greek-letter naming system?

We’ve Never Seen a Carbon-Removal Plan Like This Before

Companies including Google and Facebook are pouring more than $900 million into a nascent technology that’s essential to zeroing out emissions.

America Created Its Own Booster Problems

Months of confusing messaging, piled onto existing inequities, kneecapped America’s booster campaign before it had really started.

What Humans Can Learn From Nature’s Biggest Hibernators

Could bears hold the key to better treatments for stroke, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s?

What Can One Disease Do to a Landscape?

After the vicuñas in Argentina’s San Guillermo National Park caught mange from domesticated llamas, the world around them changed.  

Have Americans Been Mercilessly Squashing a Creepy Bug for Nothing?

Kill-on-sight orders inspired people to go after spotted lanternflies with a (perhaps misguided) vengeance.

The 1.5-Degree Goal Is All But Dead

It was once the pinnacle of humanity’s climate ambitions. A new UN-led climate report essentially concedes that it’s out of reach.

Naked Mole Rats Have a Very Strange Status Symbol

The elite rule with an iron fist—and a giant spleen.

America Is Staring Down Its First So What? Wave

The United States could be in for a double whammy: a surge it cares to neither measure nor respond to.

The War in Ukraine Is Also a Climate Problem

Russia’s invasion threatens to unravel decades of scientific collaboration in the Arctic.

The World’s Biggest Bee Isn’t Out of the Woods Yet

Scientists found a giant bee long thought to be extinct. Things didn't quite work out as planned.

Who Moved My Seed?

A rare animal found a rare plant. Then, it seems, the two teamed up.