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Science & Health

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

The fall equinox is Wednesday. Here are 8 things to know about the first day of autumn.

A brief scientific guide to the first day of fall.

By Brian Resnick

SpaceX’s latest mission was an infomercial (for charity)

The Inspiration4 mission carried souvenirs to space that people can buy now that the ship has returned to Earth.

By Rebecca Heilweil

It’s time to stop describing lifesaving health care as “elective”

By Andréa Becker September 20

Dirty air can be deadly. Here’s how to protect yourself.

By Rebecca Leber September 17

The dubious rise of ivermectin as a Covid-19 treatment, explained

By Kelsey Piper September 17

Wildfires in Australia caused an explosion of sea life thousands of miles away

By Benji Jones September 15

How bad will climate change get?

By Umair Irfan September 10

America needs to decide how much Covid-19 risk it will tolerate

By German Lopez September 7

What an enormous global study can tell us about feeling better during the pandemic

By Brian Resnick September 6

One of the worst public health dangers of the past century has finally been eradicated

By Kelsey Piper September 3

What’s causing California’s unprecedented wildfires

By Umair Irfan September 3

How to think about hurricane recovery, according to 3 experts

By Daniel A. Gross September 2

Why Hurricane Ida has been so devastating to the Gulf Coast

By Umair Irfan and Benji Jones August 30

Should vaccinated people worry about long Covid?

By German Lopez August 30

What do hurricane categories mean?

By Ellen Ioanes August 29

Hurricane Ida could ravage the Covid-strained Gulf Coast

By Ellen Ioanes August 28

The lab leak hypothesis — true or not — should teach us a lesson

By Umair Irfan August 27

How a cheap antidepressant emerged as a promising Covid-19 treatment

By Kelsey Piper August 26

What full FDA approval for Covid-19 vaccines really means

By Umair Irfan August 23

What we actually know about the vaccines and the delta variant

By Dylan Scott August 20

Solar farms are often bad for biodiversity — but they don’t have to be

By Katherine Harmon Courage August 18

Astronomers were skeptical about dark matter — until Vera Rubin came along

By Byrd Pinkerton and Noam Hassenfeld August 17

Why it’s so hard to be a nurse in America, according to two nurses

By Katherine Harmon Courage August 16

We have to accept some risk of Covid-19

By German Lopez August 13

It’s time to freak out about methane emissions

By Rebecca Leber August 12

Climate change worsens extreme weather. A revolution in science proved it.

By Umair Irfan August 12

What it feels like to get Covid-19 after being vaccinated

By Fiona Lowenstein August 11

The case against the concept of biodiversity

By Clare Fieseler August 5

Streaming space tourism is the new reality TV

By Rebecca Heilweil August 4

America isn’t taking care of caregivers

48 million people provide unpaid care to their loved ones in the US. Here’s how to help them.

By Katherine Harmon Courage August 4

New York City issues vaccine mandate for indoor activities, confuses entire country

By Rebecca Heilweil August 3

Breakthrough cases aren’t the cause of the US Covid-19 surge

By German Lopez August 3

How much worse can the coronavirus get?

By Brian Resnick July 30

For hackers, space is the final frontier

By Rebecca Heilweil July 29

Don’t dwell on the US life expectancy drop. Worry about the long-term trend.

By Michael Bader July 28

Mandate the vaccine, not masks

By German Lopez July 28

Our bodies can adapt to hotter conditions — but there’s a limit

By Brian Resnick July 26

6 questions to consider before launching yourself into space

By Rebecca Heilweil July 25

Does Congress know what it would take to stop the next pandemic?

By Kelsey Piper July 24

Did the Covid-19 Olympics have to be a mess?

By Jen Kirby July 23

The opioid epidemic isn’t unsolvable

By German Lopez July 23

Welcome to the age of billionaire joyrides to space

By Rebecca Heilweil July 20