Supermassive black holes can expel jets of material so vast and powerful that they may shape the large-scale structure of the cosmos
Lost Silk Road Cities Discovered High in the Mountains of Central Asia
On the Silk Road, these lost twin cities may have sustained themselves in a foreboding landscape with metallurgy and commerce
How Society’s Beauty Standards Could Impact Breast Cancer Outcomes
An epidemiologist explores a troubling rise in early-onset breast cancer diagnoses and discusses the potential link to chronic exposure to endocrine disruptors.
Jeff VanderMeer on How Scientific Uncertainty Inspires His Weird Fiction
In Absolution, the fourth novel in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach saga, scientists try to know the unknowable
As Hurricane Floodwaters Recede, a Public Health Threat Rises
A potable water shortage and a toxic stew of sewage and other pollutants that Hurricane Helene’s flooding left behind have prompted a race to avert a public health crisis in North Carolina
Anosmia, the Inability to Smell, Changes How People Breathe
A small study of people with congenital anosmia found changes in breathing that suggest the condition may affect more than just the ability to smell
Indigenous People Mix Ancient and Modern Science to Protect Salmon and Bears
The Heiltsuk of British Columbia are using a mix of traditional principles and modern implementation to protect salmon and bears in their territory
We Need More Meds, Not Beds, to Help People Recovering from Addiction
People recovering from substance use disorders need homes, jobs and medication-centered, quality health care, not just a bed in a residential treatment center
How Earth’s Early Life Thrived amid Catastrophic Asteroid Impacts
A gigantic space rock that slammed into Earth more than three billion years ago grievously wounded the biosphere—and then helped it heal
How Your Brain Processes Zero (It’s Not Exactly ‘Nothing’)
What we think about when we think about “zilch” is surprisingly complex, neuroscientists find