Science & Society

  1. Health & Medicine

    Two cities stopped water fluoridation. Kids’ teeth suffered

    As calls to end fluoride in water get louder, worsening dental health in children of Calgary, Canada, and Juneau, Alaska, offer a cautionary tale.

    By Alex Viveros
  2. Tech

    Soft helpers and bio-inspired tech: a match made in robot heaven

    Hugging toys offer emotional support to anxious kids and slithering snake-like robots may bring rescue aid to people trapped in dangerous conditions.

    By Katie Grace Carpenter
  3. Artificial Intelligence

    Teen’s software for spotting AI-generated text just got personal

    Rather than seeking generic signs of AI-generated text, it compares two texts to confirm they both share a writer’s unique style.

    By Katie Grace Carpenter
  4. Math

    Meet one of the ‘world’s most interesting’ mathematicians

    Angela Tabiri uses her enthusiasm for math to inspire young people — and to highlight African female mathematicians on a YouTube channel.

    By Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
  5. Health & Medicine

    Dad’s backyard lessons inspired this hearing scientist to learn

     A. Catalina Vélez-Ortega researches how proteins can protect against hearing loss.

    By Aaron Tremper
  6. Earth

    Earth farts may explain some spooky floating lights

    The gases released by earthquakes might occasionally ignite, triggering ghostly lights sometimes witnessed in South Carolina.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  7. Fossils

    This paleontologist solved a nearly 50-year-old dino mystery 

    ReBecca Hunt-Foster described what is now the state dinosaur of Arkansas 

    By Aaron Tremper
  8. Health & Medicine

    2025’s Texas measles outbreak is a lesson in the value of vaccines

    The outbreak shows that a near absence of once-common childhood diseases — like measles — is not evidence that vaccines are unnecessary.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  9. Science & Society

    Does your natural history museum need a makeover?

    A lot of their old-fashioned dioramas — a type of exhibit — are biased, boring or even unscientific. Here’s what modern museums are doing to fix that.

    By Amber Dance
  10. Science & Society

    Viewing math as a language might help it make sense to more of us

    It might also reduce the anxiety associated with using math, allowing people to better answer a host of important everyday questions.

    By Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
  11. Science & Society

    Let’s learn about 10 Black scientists you should know

    Meet 10 Black pioneers in human spaceflight, vaccine development and more.

    By Maria Temming
  12. Tech

    High-speed lasers write data — to last millennia — inside glass

    Project Silica is advancing a new way to store data — potentially forever. Some students plan to use this new media to send a message into space.

    By Kathryn Hulick