OSIRIS-REx will touch down on asteroid Bennu, collect a sample of the dust and begin its journey back to Earth, where scientists will study it, hoping to learn secrets of the solar system’s origin.
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A close look at how you decide what clothes to put on in the morning can help you understand how computers work.
Man-made chemical disrupt the activities of most human genes. What effect does this have on human health and how should regulators respond?
A COVID-19 vaccine isn’t the only tool for fighting this pandemic. An immunologist argues that safe pneumonia vaccines would reduce the severity of COVID-19, save lives and prevent the worst cases.
Health statisticians keep careful tabs on how many people die every week. Based on what’s happened in past years, they know what to expect – but 2020 death counts are surging beyond predictions.
As ready as you are to be done with COVID-19, it’s not going anywhere soon. A historian of disease describes how once a pathogen emerges, it’s usually here to stay.
A new study is the first to identify sex differences in inflammation and immune cell activation in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, which causes COVID-19.
Fake videos generated with sophisticated AI tools are a looming threat. Researchers are racing to build tools that can detect them, tools that are crucial for journalists to counter disinformation.
Patients suffering from severe COVID-19 may be experiencing a rogue antibody response similar to that seen in autoimmune diseases. The findings offer new approaches for COVID-19 therapy.
The tools to rewrite the genetic code to improve crops and livestock, or to treat genetic diseases, has revolutionized biology. A CRISPR engineer explains why this technology won the Nobel, and its potential.
Most scientific discoveries these days aren’t easily ascribed to a single researcher. CRISPR is no different – and ongoing patent fights underscore how messy research can be.
When a celebrity, politician or other influential person checks in, a health care team can feel pressured to give in to a VIP’s wishes.
The 2020 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to three scientists – an Englishman, an American and a German – for breakthroughs in understanding the most mysterious objects in the universe: black holes.
Fraudulent sites are easy to set up and it’s easy to get fooled, according to a psychologist who has advice on how to check out online merchants.
The 2020 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine goes to the discoverers of the hepatitis C virus. There’s an effective cure but homelessness and the opioid epidemic are driving a surge in infections.
New research suggests individual bees are born with one of two learning styles – either curious or focused. Their genetic tendency has implications for how the hive works together.
Artificial brains are far in the future, but computer chips that work like brains could keep computers advancing when today’s silicon transistor chips reach their limit.
Older coronavirus patients face grimmer outlooks. A virologist explains the aging-related changes in how immune systems work that are to blame.
The Trump administration wants to go it alone when it comes to vaccine development and distribution. What does this mean for the U.S. and the world?
To understand the risks of wildfire smoke, it helps to understand the chemicals people are breathing.
Local adaptation allows plants and animals to thrive in a diversity of places. Sometimes adaptation sharpens patterns of where organisms live, but 85% of the time, it creates a more homogeneous world.
Antibodies are great for neutralizing viruses. But they are big and bulky. Antibody engineers are now creating smaller synthetic antibody-like molecules that may be better for fighting COVID-19.
Society has never faced more pressing challenges. Researchers are investigating how monetary prizes can help focus innovators’ attention, creativity and investment on finding solutions.
Unfairness alone is upsetting enough to drive people to punish lucky recipients of unfair outcomes.
With 3% of science Nobels going to women and zero going to Black people, these awards are an extreme example of how certain demographics are underrepresented in STEM fields.