Opinion | Health & Disease

This myth about guns is killing us

By Mark Rosenberg

OPINION: The idea that gun violence prevention research is at odds with gun rights is just not true

Realistic illustration shows a cityscape with a mix of buildings of different heights; in the foreground is a grid of solar panels and several wind turbines. The sky is blue and filled with fluffy clouds; all is well!
Food & Environment

How cities can fight climate change

By Deepa Padmanaban

Urban activities — think construction, transportation, heating, cooling and more — are major sources of greenhouse-gas emissions. Today, a growing number of cities are striving to slash their emission to net zero — here’s what they need to do.

Photo of a man looking out on a city through a large set of windows tinted from dark to clear
Technology

How smart windows save energy

By Brittney J. Miller

Specialized glass that keeps heat in during winter and lets it out during summer could make buildings much more efficient — if costs and complexities don’t get in the way

A cutaway drawing of an animal cell, showing many internal structures, including the nucleus, mitochondria and other membrane-bound organelles. How exactly such internal compartments evolved within a simpler ancestor cell is still a question pondered by biologists.
Living World

Mitochondria and the origin of eukaryotes

By Viviane Callier

Were the powerhouse organelles a driving force or a late addition in the evolution of more complex cells like ours?

Photograph of two devil rays — one in the foreground, one in further back, swimming in the water.
Living World

Call of the deep

By Stephanie Pain

Some of the ocean’s biggest predators dive way down into the cold, dark depths. Animals-turned-oceanographers are helping biologists find out what they do when they get there.

Health & Disease

Sex, immunity and the brain

Differences between the immune systems of males and females — in particular, ones involving cells called microglia — might help explain why the risk for conditions such as autism and Alzheimer’s varies between the sexes

By Amber Dance
Video | Health & Disease

Covid and the brain: A neurological health crisis

VIDEO: Even a mild SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause inflammation that disrupts neural communication, says Stanford neurologist Michelle Monje. Her concern is that Covid-19 may leave millions dealing with cognitive problems, from a loss of mental sharpness to lapses in memory, that prevent them from returning to their previous level of function.

By Hunni Media for Knowable Magazine
The origins and future of the Grand Canyon
Event | Physical World

The origins and future of the Grand Canyon

EVENT: How old is the Grand Canyon? Will the Colorado River run dry? Learn about how the Big Ditch formed, and the present state and uncertain future of the Colorado River watershed at a free online event, Wednesday June 29.

Cartoon-style illustration of a snazzy, turquoise electric car being fueled up. The background is black with a lot of hexagons on it.
Opinion | Society

Make electric vehicles affordable for the rest of us

By Tamara Sheldon

OPINION: EV subsidies are poorly designed and mostly benefit the rich. Some simple changes could make them more effective and equitable.

Photograph about a dozen pale, tan horses relaxing on green grass by a body of water, Trees line the far shore.
Opinion | Living World

The creative way to pay for wildlife recovery

By Paul Jepson

OPINION: ‘Pragmatic rewilding’ restores damaged ecosystems and harnesses private money, with benefits for all

Collage with photographs, left to right, of three young boys, a father lying on his back outdoors with a young girl smiling down at him, and a man and a young woman standing next to each other. Overlaid on the photos is a bar graph showing the planet’s warming trend.
Food & Environment

A lifetime of climate change

By Nicola Jones

Researcher Arun Agrawal has lived three decades on either side of a watershed: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed 30 years ago this June. His 60 years are a window into how far we have come, and how far there is to go.

Photograph of colorful wooden houses with a bay in the background and mountains on the far shore. Chunks of ice are floating in the water.
Physical World

The race against radon

By Chris Baraniuk

Scientists are working to map out the risks of the permafrost thaw, which could expose millions of people to the invisible cancer-causing gas

A painting of several horses being wrangled by men along a path through some trees.
Living World

The tale of the domesticated horse

By Amber Dance

The beloved animal has shaped human history over millennia, just as people have influenced its evolution — but only recently have scientists discovered exactly when and where it went from wild to tame

Multimedia

Photo of a person’s palm holding a chunk of silver metal that pools as it melts.
Technology

Gallium: The liquid metal that could transform soft electronics

By Kurt Kleiner

Bend it. Stretch it. Use it to conduct electricity. Researchers are exploring a range of applications that harness the element’s unusual properties.

An illustration shows anguished people with opioid use disorder being treated remotely by a doctor on a laptop computer.
The Mind

Does online opioid treatment work?

By Lola Butcher

The Covid-19 pandemic brought a sudden shift to virtual health care. That has increased access — and possibly outcomes, too — for patients with opioid use disorder.

Photo shows a sleeping Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) in Costa Rica.
Society

The awake ape: Why people sleep less than their primate relatives

By Elizabeth Preston

Ancient humans may have evolved to slumber efficiently — and in a crowd

A museum drawer filled with chipmunk skins. The rodents’ skulls are stored separately in small vials.
Living World

Mining museums’ genomic treasures

By Eryn Brown

The world’s natural history collections hold billions of biological specimens, many of which still contain DNA. Scientists exploring these genetic repositories are gaining new, historical perspectives on how animals evolve.

Image shows an open pill bottle. Pills form a frowning face on one side, a happy face on the other side.
Health & Disease

How antidepressants changed ideas about depression

By Adam Levy

PODCAST: Serendipitous discoveries led to drugs like Prozac and to new insights into the physical basis of this debilitating disorder. But scientists continue to search for deeper understandings and therapies that will bring relief to those who still struggle. (Season 2, Episode 6)

The Mind

Mapping the brain to understand the mind

New technology is enabling neuroscientists to make increasingly detailed wiring diagrams that could yield new insights into brain function

By Monique Brouillette
Health & Disease

Vaccinating the world against Covid-19

Lower-income countries haven’t gotten an equal share of lifesaving coronavirus vaccines. Older, more familiar vaccine technologies may hold the key to more equitable use, says Maria Elena Bottazzi.

By Bob Holmes
Two women sit facing each other. The woman on the right is holding a baby, supporting the baby’s head with her hand. The woman on the left is administering vaccine into the baby’s arm.
Opinion | Health & Disease

The first malaria vaccine is a leap forward, but we can’t stop now

By Matthew Laurens

OPINION: Next-generation vaccines, and a lot more money, are needed now to crack the stalemate in the fight against malaria

Photograph of dozens of air conditioners on the side of a building.
Food & Environment

Rethinking air conditioning amid climate change

By Saugat Bolakhe

ACs and refrigerators help keep people safe — but they also further warm the planet. Scientists are working on eco-friendlier solutions as global demand for cooling grows.

Several cars are partially submerged in a road flooded with waist-deep water; some people wade among the cars.
Opinion | Food & Environment

Don’t let climate change take all the blame

By Friederike Otto

OPINION: The climate crisis is a massive problem, but when politicians fault it entirely for every disaster, attention is deflected from local measures that might build resiliency. That needs to change.

A GIF shows the looping flight of a SkySails paraglider-type red kite as it generates electricity.
Technology

Could high-flying kites power your home?

By Kurt Kleiner

Nearly a dozen companies are betting on computer-controlled, airborne wind energy to electrify the future

Video | Health & Disease

Covid-19: Origins of an outbreak

By Hunni Media for Knowable Magazine

VIDEO: Where do new diseases come from? As people increasingly push into remote areas, the risk of encountering new pathogens increases, says wildlife epidemiologist Jonna Mazet.

Living World

Bear hibernation: More than a winter’s nap

The creatures’ annual protracted snoozes have much to tell us about the biology of mammals, ourselves included. Now scientists are watching to see how bears will tweak their habits as the climate warms.

By Chris Woolston
Opinion | Technology

The next evolution of digital money? It’s happening now

OPINION: After cryptoassets, a wave of central bank digital currencies is set to revolutionize our ideas about what money is and how to manage it

By Tobias Adrian

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