Can We Protect Against Coronavirus by Rewriting Our Genomes?
Genome recoding could offer new modes of virus resistance, but the technology raises serious ethical concerns.
Has the U.S. Government Abandoned Birds?
Recent changes to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 leave birds vulnerable to industry, experts say.
Yes, Mass Observation Still Wants to Know about Your Life
The organization has collected interviews and diaries recording ordinary life in Britain over the course of decades. A pandemic won't stop it now.
Plant of the Month: Stanhopea Orchids
How did some orchids transform from rare, all-but-inaccessible flowers into popular houseplants you can purchase at a supermarket?
Ten Stories about Trees for Arbor Day
They talk to each other via underground networks, grow shy, migrate across the Earth's surface, and reverse some of the damage caused by climate change.
Cracking the Malaria Mystery—from Marshes to Mosquirix
It took science centuries to understand malaria. Now we’re waiting to see how the 2019 vaccine pilot works.
Anti-Asian Racism in the 1817 Cholera Pandemic
We should learn from, instead of repeating, the racist assignations of the past.
Waffle Houses Mean Way More Than Waffles in Disasters
The restaurant chain and FEMA work together in calamities like tornadoes and hurricanes, for good reason.
The First Earth Day, and the First Green Generation
The first Earth Day took place fifty years ago, so most people don't remember how it happened or what it accomplished. It's time for a look back.
COVID-19 Is Hitting Black and Poor Communities the Hardest
The viral pandemic is underscoring fault lines in access to care for those on margins.