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Bringing the hospital into the home

A movement to provide hospital-level care for sick patients in their own beds, in the comfort of familiar surroundings, is growing in the United States — a trend already embraced in some other countries

Why regulating AI is so hard — and necessary

Misinformation, market volatility and more: Faced with the need to mitigate risks that artificial intelligence presents, countries and regions are charting different paths

Why scientists are enlisting fungi to save endangered plants

The mycorrhizae that live among and in plant roots can boost the health of certain species, and even whole ecosystems — but scientists warn against a one-size-fits-all approach

The caterpillars that can kill you

Some species make venoms that are deadly. With more research, those toxic compounds could yield useful medicines.

We are all genetic mosaics

Picture your body: It’s a collection of cells carrying thousands of DNA errors accrued over a lifetime — many harmless, some bad, and at least a few that may be good for you.

Top science stories of 2024

This record-setting year for heat saw stunning auroras, a map of a brain, a Dengue epidemic, the first look at rocks from the far side of the Moon, an AI energy scramble and more

A devastating nerve disease stalks a mountain village

Neurologists have grappled with a cluster of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cases in France, where a fondness for a toxic wild mushroom may hold the answer

Making friends with your past and future selves

It’s what psychologists call self-continuity, and can improve your health and well-being

The ones who need little sleep

Short sleepers cruise by on four to six hours a night and don’t seem to suffer ill effects. Turns out they’re genetically built to require less sleep than the rest of us.

The great green building makeover

Getting our homes and workplaces to be energy efficient has major benefits — but not when it is done one window at a time. Here’s why deep retrofits and biomaterials are key to more sustainable living.

Multimedia

Can desalination quench agriculture’s thirst?

Miles away from the ocean, projects are afoot to clean up salty groundwater and use it to grow crops. Some say it’s a costly pipe dream, others say it’s part of the future.

String theory is not dead

Out of the limelight, theoretical physicists seek the math that can explain the universe’s particles and forces

Cracking the recipe for perfect plant-based eggs

Hint: It involves finding just the right proteins. With new ingredients and processes, the next generation of substitutes will be not just more egg-like, but potentially more nutritious.

The secrets of butterfly migration, written in pollen

Trillions of insects move around the globe each year. Scientists are working on new ways to map those long-distance journeys.

She ain’t scary, she’s my mother

Elaborate courtship, devoted parenthood, gregarious nature (and occasional cannibalism) — earwigs have a lot going for them

Severe irritability in children and teens: A new understanding

Kids with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder have explosive outbursts well past toddler age. Scientists are trying to work out the causes and what treatments help.

Night of the zombie insects

A parasitic fungus takes over the brains of flies and controls them for its own sinister ends. Here’s the science behind the horror.

When ribosomes go rogue

Unusual variations in the cellular protein factory can skew development, help cancer spread and more. But ribosome variety may also play biological roles, scientists say.

How a child becomes bilingual — and what can be done to help them get there

Kids from immigrant backgrounds in the US often struggle to develop fluency in two languages. Many factors — parental misconceptions, the lack of support in schools and social attitudes — play a role.

The Cybathlon: Bionic athletes compete for the gold — and push assistive technologies forward

In the international competition, people with physical disabilities put state-of-the-art devices to the test as they race to complete the tasks of everyday life

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