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The ruins of Great Zimbabwe in a grassy area.
Society

Civilizations of Africa through a new lens

By Amber Dance

Small settlements and the scourge of slavery left gaps in Africa’s archaeological record. Yet sites and artifacts are revealing clues to the continent’s more recent history. An archaeologist explains the findings and threats to this heritage.

A woman arranges dozens of small fish on several rods to be smoked.
Society

Uncovering the impact of artisanal fisheries

By Iván Carrillo

Small-scale fishing has long been ignored by public policy, scientific research and global economics, but its potential to help end hunger and poverty is huge. New work is bringing it out of the shadows.

Brightly colored, detailed views of cellular structures
Technology

Super-resolution microscopes showcase the inner lives of cells

By Katarina Zimmer

Advanced light microscopy techniques have come into their own — and are giving scientists a new understanding of human biology and what goes wrong in disease

Cartoony illustration of mitochondria as well as other cellular organelles.
Technology

Mighty mitochondria: Cell powerhouses harnessed for healing

By Jackie Rocheleau

Infusion of the tiny, sausage-shaped structures helps to rejuvenate tissues deprived of blood. Researchers hope the technique can treat a variety of damaged organs.

A veterinarian examines a dog as the owner looks on.
Health & Disease

Dogs and their people: Companions in cancer research

By Bob Holmes

Canine and human cancers bear many similarities — studies in dogs are helping to develop treatments for both species

Conceptual illustration of a stopwatch surrounded by other elements like waves and atoms.
Physical World

Watching the world, one quintillionth of a second at a time

An attosecond is no time at all for a person. Not so for electrons, atoms and molecules. Laser-wielding scientists are revealing the action.

By Ivan Amato
An illustration shows a silhouette of a man’s head with the brain highlighted, with viruses and DNA strands around the figure.
Health & Disease

How rogue jumping genes can spur Alzheimer’s, ALS

Our genomes are peppered with DNA segments called retrotransposons that can move from place to place. When unleashed, some can kill nerves and promote inflammation — a discovery that may inspire treatments for neurodegeneration.

By Amber Dance
Conceptual collage shows HIV virus, infected person, images of pills and microscope.
Health & Disease

HIV medications: Did fears about side effects come to pass?

By Tammy Worth

The emergence of antiretroviral drugs saved millions of lives — but some worried about long-term health problems. Here’s how that turned out.

Conceptual image shows a prescription bottle containing worms.
Health & Disease

Worm-inspired treatments inch toward the clinic

By Amber Dance

Infection by certain wrigglers may reduce inflammation and fight obesity and diabetes. Scientists are at work to turn the findings into therapies.

Black-and-white collage of beautiful small shells
Living World

The history of the ocean, as told by tiny beautiful fossils

By Tim Vernimmen

Bountiful remains of foraminifera reveal how organisms responded to climate disturbances of the past. They can help predict the future, too.

Photograph of a group of grey colored sandhill cranes standing in water and stubble.
Food & Environment

How farmers can help rescue water-loving birds

By Lela Nargi

Cranes, sandpipers, ducks, geese and many other waterbirds have lost essential rest stops along their seasonal migration routes. Bird-friendly agriculture can assist in filling the gaps.

A field of white button mushrooms; one has a brown, wrinkled cap.
Living World

Viruses that roam the fungal kingdom

By Amber Dance

Mushrooms and other fungi can harbor hidden companions — and some of these may fight pesky or dangerous molds

Multimedia

Conceptual art shows a government building opening up to show gears, a wrench and mechanical systems at work under the roof.
Society

How to make bureaucracies better

By Nicola Jones

People love to hate them, but effective administrative systems shape good government. A political scientist weighs in on why reforming them is best done with care.

A young grizzly bear climbs over a highway guardrail.
Food & Environment

Getting along with grizzly bears

By Lesley Evans Ogden

In rural Alaskan and Canadian communities, reducing conflict between people and their wild neighbors means both species must change their behavior

Collage showing a close-up of an eye, a farmworker in the sun, rising heat waves, cataracts, and a pair of sunglasses
Health & Disease

How climate change threatens eye health

By Sanket Jain

Cataracts, pink eye and other ocular disorders are linked to heat, air pollution and higher UV exposure

A collection of photos of sea cucumbers of different colors and textures.
Living World

Weird and wondrous sea cucumbers

By Katarina Zimmer

These spiny or slimy ocean creatures display an astonishing diversity of appearances, behaviors and lifestyles. Many are increasingly threatened.

A collage of 11 flowers of thermogenic plants
Living World

Rotten tricks: How hot and stinky plants woo pollinators

By Rachel Ehrenberg

To attract insects, thermogenic plants turn up the heat, emit strong odors and even disguise themselves as corpses

A collage of different kinds of wild seeds, varying in size and shape.
Living World

The surprisingly tricky art of seed banking

To safeguard threatened plants, science must unravel the hidden biology of often-persnickety seeds as they age, sleep and awaken

By Katarina Zimmer
Black silhouettes of dead trees stand out against a pinky orange sky
Food & Environment

Ghost forests are growing as sea levels rise

As trees choked by saltwater die along low-lying coasts, marshes may move in — for better or worse, scientists are learning

By Jude Coleman
A collage illustration shows people of all ages and ethnicities using shared mobility services, including e-scooters, bicycles and rideshares.
Society

Shared mobility: Making travel easier for all

By Kaja Šeruga

Carshares, bikeshares and the like are a positive for the environment, though access to them isn’t equal. What can be done to give everyone more transportation options?

Conceptual illustration shows a dark, hot hydrothermal vent at the bottom of the ocean, plus the genesis of small organic chemicals and primitive cells.
Living World

At the dawn of life, did metabolism come first?

By Viviane Callier

Some scientists propose that in the beginning, geochemistry gave way to biochemistry — with no genetic material necessary. Only later did RNA and DNA appear.

Ilustration of a doctor raking in a Japanese rock garden drawn to resemble a person’s profile, symbolically erasing a tumor cell by reducing stress.
Health & Disease

How stress shapes cancer’s course

By Diana Kwon

Studies show psychological strain can accelerate tumors — could beta blockers slow them down?

Three panels show a cow, a chicken and a woman, with viral particles moving from each animal to the woman.
Health & Disease

Everything you need to know about bird flu

By Amber Dance

How dangerous is it? Where did it come from? H5N1 influenza’s origins stretch back to the 1990s, and key events paved the way for the outbreak we’re seeing today.

Illustration of a woman shows a primary tumor in breast that has spread to other body parts.
Health & Disease

How cancer cells travel to new tissues and take hold

By Amber Dance

Understanding these astonishing migrations through the human body, known as metastases, could suggest novel treatments

Animation visualizes one electron orbiting a proton along a specified orbit.
Physical World

Pursuing the electrical fluid: How scientists discovered the electron

A celebration of 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Mechanics and Science would be remiss without a look at how the carrier of electricity finally yielded its secrets — paving the way to the quantum era

By Tom Siegfried
Photograph of snow-capped mountains with forests and snowy landscape in foreground.
Physical World

How did eastern North America form?

With many collisions and much crumpling of rock, down the ages. The story holds lessons for how the edges of continents are built and change over time.

By Alexandra Witze

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