Science & Health

News and updates from the health and science team. Topics include genetics, infectious disease, psychology, and more.

Animal sounds are a marvel of evolution. We can’t afford to drown them out.

The air around us is vibrating with sonic lessons, says an award-winning biologist. All we have to do is listen.

By Neel Dhanesha

How high can gas prices go?

The US ban on Russian imports has a modest effect, but what comes next matters more.

By Rebecca Leber

Science & Health

Doctors learned how to save premature infants’ lives. They forgot about pain.

Scientists are investigating how to treat pain in babies who can’t tell you when it hurts.

By Brian Resnick March 10

The bizarre deep-sea creatures living on the Endurance shipwreck

By Benji Jones March 9

We have the best view yet of Covid-19’s origins. What should we do about it?

By Umair Irfan March 9

California wants to use electric cars to back up the power grid

By Neel Dhanesha March 9

What science still doesn’t know about the five senses

By Brian Resnick and Noam Hassenfeld March 9

The troubling link between electric cars and ... flamingos?

By Benji Jones March 9

The loss of insects is an apocalypse worth worrying about

By Benji Jones March 6

America can’t solve its gas price problem (or its Russia problem) with drilling

By Rebecca Leber March 5

There’s no good way to roll back mask mandates

By Keren Landman March 4

The International Space Station isn’t above global politics

By Rebecca Heilweil March 4

The long, strange history of anti-vaccination movements

By Anna North March 4

Oops, cleaning the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was probably a bad idea

By Benji Jones March 4

Why climate solutions will fail without the help of social scientists

By Rebecca Leber March 1

5 signs of how climate change is unraveling Earth’s ecosystems

By Benji Jones March 1

The Supreme Court appears eager to gut the EPA, but can’t figure out how to do it

By Ian Millhiser February 28

Climate change is already making parts of the world unlivable

By Umair Irfan February 28

How to think about the risk of nuclear war, according to 3 experts

By Neel Dhanesha February 27

4 lessons from the life of global health visionary Paul Farmer

By Keren Landman February 25

Why we love animals — and love to eat them

By Kenny Torrella February 24

Scientists are recruiting elephant seals to eavesdrop on whales

By Benji Jones February 24

These tiny succulent plants are being poached by the thousands

By Meredith Lawrence February 23

The absurd Supreme Court case that could gut the EPA

By Ian Millhiser February 23

The hidden melting of the most important ice on Earth, explained

By Umair Irfan February 21

How to clear the air in the most polluted cities on Earth

By Siobhan McDonough February 20

What the world got right during the Covid-19 pandemic

By Muizz Akhtar February 19

The mystery of methane gone missing

By Rebecca Leber February 17

Why were scientists so slow to study Covid-19 vaccines and menstruation?

By Keren Landman February 17

SpaceX and our space junk problem

By Sara Morrison February 16

The hidden epidemic

By Miranda Dixon-Luinenburg February 16

Why electric vehicles are so hot in the 2022 Super Bowl ads

By Rebecca Leber February 13

The bad news about your avocado habit

By Benji Jones February 13

How gray wolves divided America

By Benji Jones February 12

They save skiers and hikers in the wilderness. Here’s how they think about resilience.

Search-and-rescue responders have powerful new ways of recovering from trauma.

By Christopher Tedeschi February 11

Artificial snow is nothing like the real stuff

By Neel Dhanesha February 10

The end of natural gas has to start with its name

By Rebecca Leber February 10

We regret to inform you that we are now discussing subvariants

By Umair Irfan February 10

What science still can’t explain about love

By Brian Resnick February 9

The manatees are starving

By Benji Jones February 8

Why you (probably) won’t finish reading this story

By Sean Illing February 8

Will climate change melt the Winter Olympics?

By Umair Irfan February 5