The Big Fight Over 403 Very Small Wasps
Earth is teeming with unknown species, and they’re dying off faster than ever. Now biologists are battling over an old question: how to catalog life?
Here Come the Underdogs of the Robot Olympics
Can a scrappy team of robotics undergrads play to win against the best-funded labs in the world? At the Darpa Challenge, it’s anyone’s game.
A Genetic Curse, a Scared Mom, and the Quest to ‘Fix’ Embryos
Danielle Messer carried a mitochondrial mutation that left her son severely disabled. Before even daring another pregnancy, she tracked down an “egg specialist.”
The Lion, the Polygamist, and the Biofuel Scam
How a member of a breakaway Mormon sect teamed up with a Lambo-driving, hard-partying tycoon to bilk the government for hundreds of millions of dollars.
My Friend Was Struck by ALS. To Fight Back, He Built a Movement
At 37, Brian Wallach was diagnosed with the fatal disease. So he tapped a lifetime of connections to give help and hope to fellow sufferers—while grappling with his own mortality.
Moondust Could Cloud Our Lunar Ambitions
It's superfine. It's sharp. It sticks to everything. Before we return to the moon, we'll have to conquer one of the weirdest substances in the solar system.
The Quest to Make a Bot That Can Smell as Well as a Dog
Scientists are trying to crack the code of how smell works—and create robots that can sniff out the world's secrets like a dog.
The Devastating Allure of Medical Miracles
After sepsis forced the amputation of Sheila Advento's hands, an intricate transplant technique made her whole again. Then came the side effects.
One Couple’s Tireless Crusade to Stop a Genetic Killer
When Sonia Vallabh lost her mother to a rare disease, she and her husband, Eric Minikel, set out to find a cure.
The Meteorite Hunters Who Descended on the Carancas Fall
In rural Peru, a chunk of rock made landfall with a tremendous blast. Meteorite hunters rushed to get a piece of the action. Then things got weird.