Science

What Did Ancient Whales See?

Scientists are examining evolutionary breadcrumbs to reconstruct the vision of whales that lived as long as 55 million years ago.

Mexico’s ‘Water Monster’ Is Uniting Farmers and Scientists

The future of an endangered salamander rests on an ecosystem long in demise.

Fish Oil Is Good! No, Bad! No, Good! No, Wait.

Americans love it. But the science is getting even weirder.

What Should Worry Most Americans About Our Monkeypox Response

The U.S. has declared (another) public-health emergency. An expert weighs in on whether we might botch this one, too.

The Coronavirus Has One Strategy We Can’t Vaccinate Against

It may be getting better at dodging one of the immune system’s main defenses.

The Best Evidence Yet That the Climate Bill Will Work

The Senate deal would change the course of the 2020s, finally putting America’s climate goals in sight.

100 Degrees Fahrenheit Is Just a Number

But it sure feels bad.

Antlers Do What No Other Bones Can

Deer almost break their bodies to build antlers each year, and scientists still don’t really know why.

40,000 Pet Dogs, One Big Question

Scientists around the world have recruited dogs and their owners to investigate the secrets of canine aging.

Insects Might Feel Pain. Should Scientists Care?

New evidence is prompting some researchers to rethink ethics in the lab.

What an Alzheimer’s Controversy Reveals About the Pressures of Academia

A prominent research paper is under review for possible fraud. Why is it so hard to correct the record?

America Should Have Been Able to Handle Monkeypox

Has COVID taught us nothing?

The Coziest Spot on the Moon

A shadowy cave at the bottom of a lunar pit might not sound like a nice spot, but it’s more comfortable than the surface.

Manchin and Schumer’s Astonishing Climate Deal

If passed, the energy provisions of the senators’ new bill would represent the most significant climate action in a generation.

Lactose Tolerance Is an Evolutionary Puzzle

Could famine be the missing piece?

A Plan to Lower Gas Prices—And (Maybe) Help the Climate

A new White House proposal is trying to keep oil prices in the “Goldilocks zone.”

The Creature That Gave Up Parasitism for … Wait, What?

It’s a mystery wrapped in a riddle wrapped in a kidney.

Trees Are Overrated

Preserving the world’s great expanses of grass could be essential to combatting climate change.

Could Genetics Be the Key to Never Getting the Coronavirus?

Scientists have known for decades that some people can be resistant to HIV infection. Why not the coronavirus, too?

The Era of Climate Change Has Created a New Emotion

What word might describe losing your home while staying in one place?