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The Mysterious Hantavirus Outbreak That Put the Virus on the Western Map

More than 30 years ago, in the Four Corners region of the US, an Old-World pathogen was discovered in the New World

Giant Squid Discovered Lurking off the Australian Coast

The massive sea creature left behind some DNA

For Every Patient Their Own Drug

Patients with exceedingly rare genetic diseases fall through the cracks of the medical system. This doctor is designing drugs for them, one at a time.

These Beetles Might Be Flying Ubers for Worms

Trigger warning for anyone squicked out by wriggling masses of things

What Your Dream Life Says About You

A conversation with a dream researcher about how dream content and recall may reflect personality and thinking style

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The Best of NASA’s Newly Released Photos From the Artemis II Mission

These are the highest-resolution images of the moon ever captured by human beings

AI Music vs. My Parents

My folks were taken in by the latest algorithmic “artist,” and it scares me

From our latest print issue

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Saving the Girl with Dementia

It takes a family to drive research for a rare disease forward

When Scientists Are Dinosaurs 

At the paleontology conference, her new theory was shouted down

Chernobyl, 40 Years Later

A lot has changed at the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster

Kon-Tiki Set Sail 79 Years Ago Today

The most epic, pseudoscientific adventure ever

Rome Was Built Today

Celebrating the scientific and technical contributions of Rome on the mythical birthday of the eternal city

The Mix-up at the Heart of the Supreme Court’s Conversion Therapy Ruling

A psychiatrist on the crucial distinction the case glosses over, how media coverage has made it worse, and why that’s dangerous for LGBTQ+ youth

The Things That Fuel Our Dreams

“What dreams may come” depends on your personality

The Science of Spooky Sounds

A conversation with a “pseudoscience” researcher about how infrasound could be linked to ghosts

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Nature’s Overlooked Role in National Security

A conversation with an ecologist and a national security expert about the underappreciated risks posed by ecological disruption

Farewell to a Giant of Botany

Peter Raven, the transformative conservationist and father of “coevolution,” passed away this week

When a Species’ Survival Hinges on Every Single Embryo

The two female Northern white rhinos keeping the species alive

Fruit Flies: Masters of Hypergravity

These insects not only survived gravity four times stronger than Earth’s, they thrived

How Seals Detox After a Long Deep Dive

Just like us, they need a cooldown after workouts

The Bad Seed and the Problem of Blame

A conversation with behavioral geneticist Kathryn Paige Harden about the heritability of vice

A Light in the Dark: Finding the Good in the Natural World

Is it absurd to think that science can inform our values?

How ‘Tiny Shortcuts’ Are Poisoning Science

Seemingly harmless data tweaks are undermining the integrity of the entire field. We must define the problem to prevent it

10 Books We’re Excited About This May

Quantum physics, AI pals, and seagull attacks

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The First Male Neanderthal Genome

Genetic insights from a 110,000-year-old individual recovered from a cave in Siberia

Our Human Ancestors Dined on Takeout

Why early hominins opted for the to-go option

What Hurt This Jurassic Sea Monster?

The ichthyosaurs had some tremendous survival skills

How Does Your Brain Know a Cat Is a Cat?

A conversation with renowned neuroscientists Lisa Feldman Barrett and Earl Miller about categories, “folk psychology,” beginner’s mind, and thinking fast and slow

The Rapid Evolution of Giant Daisies

They’re the botanical versions of Darwin’s finches

Vaccine Hesitancy in an Era of Misinformation

The U.S. government and the right-wing media ecosystem are sowing unfounded doubt