To find a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, scientists need to work hands-on with the highly infectious coronavirus. It happens in a super secure lab designed to keep them safe and prevent any escapes.
‘Normal’ body temperature varies from person to person by age, time of day, where it’s measured, and even menstrual cycle. External conditions also influence your thermometer reading.
Martian meteorites allow scientists here on Earth to decode that planet’s geology, more than a decade before the first missions are scheduled to bring rocks back home from Mars.
People have lived with infectious disease throughout the millennia, with culture and biology influencing each other. Archaeologists decode the stories told by bones and what accompanies them.
Police forces across the country now have access to surveillance technologies that were recently available only to national intelligence services. The digitization of bias and abuse of power followed.
If you have had COVID-19 already, are you protected from another bout of the illness? And is the presence of antibodies in your blood a guarantee of immunity?
When it comes to commercial space tourism, suborbital flight are the first frontier. But what are the risks? Are there health requirements? What should you know before taking such a way-out trip?
Why does COVID-19 hit men harder than women? Is the disparity in mortality rates due to male hormones or an underlying difference in the male versus female immune system?
Smartphone apps and wearable devices can tell when workers have been within six feet of each other, promising to help curb the coronavirus. But they’re not all the same when it comes to privacy.
Government policies and dangerous conditions affect the ability of researchers working on both sides of the US-Mexico border to conduct scientific fieldwork.
From its roots as an electric version of snake oil, by the 1930s vibrators were just another household electric appliance that could soothe your pains at the end of a long day.
A new survey finds that Americans are willing to accept limits on visitors to public lands to reduce crowds, and want staff and visitors to wear masks.
The chemical weapon, tear gas, was used in Washington DC, Los Angeles, Orlando and several other cities to control crowds protesting the death of George Floyd. But what is it? Does it cause harm?
Differences in the viruses’ biology and societal contexts mean there’s no guarantee today’s pandemic will mirror the ‘waves’ of infection a century ago.
Many respiratory viruses cause us to temporarily lose our sense of smell. But SARS-CoV-2 isn’t like those other viruses. Researchers are now exploring how it differs and whether patients recover.
Scanning through billions of chemicals to find a few potential drugs for treating COVID-19 requires computers that harness together thousands of processors.
Brian Allan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Chris Stone, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Holly Tuten, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jennifer Kuzma, North Carolina State University, and Natalie Kofler, Harvard University
Release of GM mosquitoes in Florida is imminent. But a multidisciplinary team of scientists believe that more studies are needed first. They encourage a publicly accessible registry for GM organisms.
Pegor Aynajian, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Generating energy usually means wasted heat. Semiconductors let the electrons flow with zero waste – but so far scientists only know how to get them to work at ultra-low temperatures.
Yalda T. Uhls, University of California, Los Angeles
Understanding others’ emotions is a crucial social skill. Counter to concerns about screen time stunting kids’ development, one study suggests they’re getting better at recognizing emotion on screen.
Antibodies that recognize and block SARS-CoV-2 infection have the potential to be powerful weapons. An infectious disease expert explains what antibodies are and how they could be used as a therapy.