Science & Society

  1. Health & Medicine

    Ah-choo! Healthy sneezes, coughs sound just like sick ones to us

    Think you can tell a sick cough from a healthy one? Think again. New research finds the human ear isn’t sensitive enough to tell the difference.

    By Jonathan Lambert
  2. Archaeology

    Let’s learn about mummies

    A mummy is a preserved body. They’re fun and spooky, but also a great chance to learn about people of the past.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  3. Health & Medicine

    Millions of likely U.S. COVID-19 cases have gone undiagnosed

    Over just three weeks in March, some 8.7 million people in the United States may have contracted COVID-19. That far surpasses the official tally.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  4. Health & Medicine

    Waiting for a ‘smart’ toilet? It’s nearly here

    With every bathroom visit, we flush away important health data. Scientists hope to change that with 'smart toilets' that analyze your body’s output.

    By Stephanie Parker
  5. Health & Medicine

    Coronavirus lockdowns may have avoided 531 million infections

    Studies find big benefits from global coronavirus lockdowns. More than a half a billion of the potentially deadly infections appear to have been avoided.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  6. Animals

    Why you’re spotting more wildlife during COVID-19

    People are seeing more animals than they did before the pandemic. There are many reasons why.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  7. Animals

    #BlackBirdersWeek seeks to open the outdoors for everyone

    The social media campaign #BlackBirdersWeek hopes to show the world the many black birders and nature lovers of color.

    By Jonathan Lambert
  8. Humans

    Let’s learn about bias

    People can be biased, even if they don’t think they are. Luckily, there are ways to fight our biases.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  9. Science & Society

    A first: Commercial rocket takes humans into space

    Two NASA astronauts aboard the privately built Crew Dragon capsule are the first to be sent into orbit from U.S. soil since 2011.

    By Lisa Grossman
  10. Humans

    Skeletons hint that ancient societies had women warriors

    Some women in North American hunter-gatherer societies and Mongolian herding groups may have been warriors.

    By Bruce Bower
  11. Environment

    CO2 emissions have nosedived as COVID-19 keeps people home

    The COVID-19 pandemic restricted travel that can pollute the air. By April, travel-related daily emissions of greenhouse gases was back to 2006 levels.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  12. Health & Medicine

    Our gut microbes love a good workout

    Technology shows how microbes in the body respond to exercise. That helps scientists understand why those microbes keep athletes healthy.

    By Silke Schmidt