An illustration of a syringe and a microscope

The Measles Might Make Your Body “Forget” Its Own Immunity

Scientists have found that sometimes people infected with measles later develop "immune amnesia": their bodies don't remember being sick, even with other viruses.
A composite image of a grey squirrel and a red squirrel

Can CRISPR Save Tufty Fluffytail?

The native red squirrel population in the UK has been decimated by the encroachment of its American cousin, an invasive species. Could a "gene drive" help?
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Bulldozers Versus Biodiversity, Then and Now

Trump's border wall threatens habitats in Arizona's Sonoran Desert. What happened when the area was bulldozed in the 1950s?
Milk in glass jugs at a supermarket

Got Milk? You Probably Got Fire Retardants, Too

“Forever chemicals,” also known as PFAS, have been found in 43 states so far, turning up in milk, eggs, and fish.
Thick Billed Parrots

The Thick-Billed Parrot Is Not Extinct–Not Yet

But one hasn't been seen in the U.S. since 1995, not long after the end of the last reintroduction program.
agave

Plant of the Month: Agave

The international popularity of tequila threatens the quantity, health, and biodiversity of all species of agave.
Medieval depiction of Caesarian birth

How Medieval Surgeons Shaped Sex and Gender

Our ideas about surgically “correcting” intersex conditions go back to a shift in the profession of surgery seven centuries ago.
An octopus

Stuck in the Midden with You

A midden is, among other things, a refuse site outside an octopus' home. (Release the Køkkenmødding!)
1971 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Ambulance

When Ambulances Were Hearses

The federal government pushed the improvement of emergency services from several directions in the 60s and 70s.
Closeup shot of a group of unrecognizable people holding plants growing out of soil

Five Green Living Resolutions for 2020

We won't solve all of the pressing environmental problems, but we can help mitigate some.