Research into public health benefits of integrating nature into cities has focused on green spaces. New studies suggest water features are just as useful and can piggyback on other infrastructure goals.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Analysis and Comment
Modified commercial drones are getting more powerful and can easily be turned into weapons. A researcher argues for ways to prevent their development.
Google claims quantum supremacy – IBM says not so fast. One researcher explains why he doesn't see quantum computers outpacing classical computers any time soon ... and maybe not ever.
We have more neurons in our cortices than any other species, courtesy of an early technology – and along with them came our long, slow lives, with plenty of chances to gather around the dinner table.
Little bits of Jupiter's Great Red Spot seem to be flaking off. Is it a sign of the demise of this enigmatic red cloud, or just a consequence of atmospheric chaos we can't see from above?
As protests raged across Chile last month, President Piñera repeatedly addressed the nation. Researchers fed his speeches into an AI system to assess the emotions behind his words.
Mention fungi and most people think of eating mushrooms or yeasts in bread or beer. But fungi are now on the CDC's list of public health threats as the number of deadly infections they cause rise.
Masting is what biologists call the pattern of trees for miles around synchronizing to all produce lots of seeds – or very few. Why and how do they get on schedule?
Destruction of rainforests through wildfires or deforestation may harm human health. As these forests disappear, we may be losing precious medicinal plants that hold treatments for various diseases.
What caused the rise and then collapse 2,600 years ago of this vast empire centered on Mesopotamia? Clues from a cave in northern Iraq point to abrupt climate change.
Apollo 11 tends to steal the spotlight when it comes to lunar landings. But Apollo 12 was the first mission to make a precise pinpoint landing on the Moon - and without the aid of computers or GPS.
One hundred years ago, the inventor of the most deadly weapon of the 20th century was born in Russia. Now more than 100 million of his namesake guns have been manufactured and used around the world.
Engineers predict a time when people and robots physically interact all day long. For that to happen safely will require new soft materials that can do things like sense touch and change shape.
Talk of bioterrorism might provoke fears of smallpox and anthrax, but mundane threats like salmonella may pose greater danger. And experts say that the U.S. is not prepared for an attack.
Thanksgiving
Self-proclaimed gluten sensitivity is on the rise, and so is the stereotype that it goes along with being a politically correct progressive. But is gluten actually a good proxy for social values?
Sit down to Thanksgiving dinner ready to amaze your companions with physiological facts about why different cuts of the turkey have different characteristics.
Bread. Yeast. Wine. Cheese. All these delicious foods are courtesy of various forms of domesticated fungi. So how, exactly, did humans tame wild fungi into the cooperative species that make our food?
Curious Kids
Moths and insects cluster around lights at night. Why?
Every person's blood is identified by type. Why does this matter?
How do we know that bees were around when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth? The main evidence comes from fossils – the mineralized remains of long-dead organisms.
Gene-editing people
Scientists worldwide are calling for a moratorium on gene editing in germline cells. But what is a germline cell? How does it differ from other cells in our body? Why does it matter if we edit them?
Research and Expert Database
Progress has been made toward gender parity in science fields. But explicit and implicit barriers still hold women back from advancing in the same numbers as men to the upper reaches of STEM academia.
The first internet communication was underwhelming, thanks to a computer crash. But a lot has happened since then – including key decisions that helped build the internet of today.
To untangle the relationship between climate change, fall foliage and national park visitors, researchers are asking tourists to check their old photo albums for snapshots that could hold valuable data.
Sulfur contaminates gasoline and coal, and when these fuels are burned, sulfur dioxide is emitted, causing pollution and respiratory issues. Now there may be a new, cheaper way to remove it.
Why did Earth's climate rapidly cool 12,800 years ago? Evidence is mounting that a comet or asteroid collision is to blame, with new support coming from the bottom of a South Carolina lake.
Many deciduous trees put on a dazzling fall foliage display. But coniferous evergreens hold on to their needles and stay green. A biologist breaks down these different survival strategies.
These tiny nanoparticles might provide a new way to see what's happening in the brain and even deliver treatments to specific cells – if researchers figure out how to use them safely and effectively.
As the country grew, each census required greater effort than the last. That problem led to the invention of the punched card.
An anthropologist who's researched the dispossession of Native Americans and their enduring connections to ancestral places sees the value in asking 'whose land are you on?'
New research models how the Homo floresiensis species could have evolved its small size remarkably quickly while living on an isolated island.
Have you recently harvested a big fruit from your garden? Here an expert's tips on how to go from jumbo to gargantuan with your tomatoes.
An anthropologist works in American Samoa, taking advantage of the island's longstanding tattoo culture to tease out the effects tattoos have on the body's immune function.
A new project for Detroit middle and high schoolers combines athletics and mathematical concepts.
Drunk without drinking? Liver damage without drinking? Gut bacteria might be the cause.
Decarbonizing the global economy would help the climate change problem – but also many others. Would putting all those additional co-benefits center stage help drum up support for climate action?
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