The winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine made a discovery that helped create the COVID-19 vaccines. They couldn’t have anticipated the tremendous impact of their findings.
Two decades ago, the nanotechnology revolution avoided stumbling by bringing a wide range of people to the table to chart its development. The window is closing fast on AI following suit.
Measuring the ages of planets and stars is tricky. An observational astrophysicist describes the subtle clues that provide good estimates for how old different space objects are.
Change in the brain usually comes with plenty of effort over time. Neuroscientists are working to understand how psychedelic drugs provide a shortcut that seems to rely on existing brain systems.
ChatGPT and its ilk give propagandists and intelligence agents a powerful new tool for interfering in politics. The clock is ticking on learning to spot this disinformation before the 2024 election.
For students to learn in a safe, healthy environment, school administrators must deal with a myriad of potential environmental contaminants, from allergens to cockroaches.
Marco Túlio Pacheco Coelho, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL); Catherine Graham, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York), and Dave Roberts, Montana State University
A new study reveals how the geography of global climates influences the rich patterns of species diversity in an ever-changing world.
Educating mock jurors about what kinds of statements are appropriate − or not − led to more critical assessments of forensic testimony and improved the quality of their decisions.
With the help of the microbes that once played an essential role in keeping you alive, the building blocks of your body go on to become a part of other living things.
How do all the different pieces of digital technology you use every day – weather apps, online banking, games and so on – talk to each other? Via application programming interfaces, or APIs.
From breast implants to prosthetic knees, implants can trigger a foreign body response that results in your body rejecting them. Suppressing an immune cell gene could reduce this risk.
Warmer ocean waters are fueling the spread of the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus. Infections can lead to a rare but fatal condition called necrotizing fasciitis.
India’s Chandrayaan-3 rover has found sulfur on the Moon’s surface at higher concentrations than previously seen. Sulfur, a useful resource, could pave the way for future Moon bases.
You probably won’t be targeted by spyware, but if you are, odds are you won’t know about it. The latest spyware slips in unseen through online ads as you go about your digital life.
AI poses a variety of ethical conundrums, but the NASA teams working on Mars rovers exemplify an ethic of care and human-robot teamwork that could act as a blueprint for AI’s future.
Deep brain stimulation can help some people with treatment-resistant depression feel better, but it can be unclear whether a bout of low mood is a relapse or a bad day.
One way to prevent the destruction wrought by a devastating earthquake – like the one that hit Morocco in September 2023 – is to construct resilient homes and buildings.