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Science

News and updates from the science team. Topics include genetics, infectious disease, psychology, and more.

Will AI ever become conscious? It depends on how you think about biology.
Future Perfect

The debate that will steer the future of consciousness — and us.

By Oshan Jarow
Will AI ever become conscious? It depends on how you think about biology.
Future Perfect

The debate that will steer the future of consciousness — and us.

By Oshan Jarow
SpaceX’s risky mission will go farther into space than we’ve been in 50 yearsSpaceX’s risky mission will go farther into space than we’ve been in 50 years
Science

The privately funded venture will test out new aerospace technology.

By Ellen Ioanes
The staggering death toll of scientific liesThe staggering death toll of scientific lies
Future Perfect

Scientific fraud kills people. Should it be illegal?

By Kelsey Piper
Big Pharma claims lower prices will mean giving up miracle medications. Ignore them.Big Pharma claims lower prices will mean giving up miracle medications. Ignore them.
Future Perfect

The case against Medicare drug price negotiations doesn’t add up.

By Dylan Scott

The latest in Science

Antibiotics are failing. The US has a plan to launch a research renaissance.
Future Perfect

But there might be global consequences.

By Jess Craig
Why does it feel like everyone is getting Covid?Why does it feel like everyone is getting Covid?
Covid-19

Covid’s summer surge, explained

By Ellen Ioanes
Earthquakes are among our deadliest disasters. Scientists are racing to get ahead of them.Earthquakes are among our deadliest disasters. Scientists are racing to get ahead of them.
Natural Disasters

Japan’s early-warning system shows a few extra seconds can save scores of lives.

By Umair Irfan
The only child stigma, debunked
Parenting

Being an only child doesn’t mess you up for life. We promise.

By Charley Locke
We have a drug that might delay menopause — and help us live longerWe have a drug that might delay menopause — and help us live longer
Future Perfect

Ovaries age faster than the rest of the body. Figuring out how to slow menopause might help all of us age better.

By Celia Ford
Ditching factory farming can help prevent another pandemic
Future Perfect

The neglected environmental and health benefits of fighting Big Meat — for humans.

By Jonathan Safran Foer and Aaron Gross
These reviled birds of prey literally save people’s livesThese reviled birds of prey literally save people’s lives
Future Perfect

When vultures died off in India, people died too.

By Dylan Scott
Why two astronauts are stuck in spaceWhy two astronauts are stuck in space
Science

The Starliner test mission is just one of Boeing’s many woes.

By Ellen Ioanes
What if colon cancer screening didn’t involve poop?What if colon cancer screening didn’t involve poop?
Science

Blood-based biopsies could make screening less icky — if we can make them more accurate.

By Charlotte Hu
Storm chasing has changed — a lot — since TwisterStorm chasing has changed — a lot — since Twister
Culture

These days, anyone can follow a tornado, but you’ll want to leave that to the professionals.

By Alex Abad-Santos
How public universities hooked America on meat
Future Perfect

University scientists helped build factory farming. Now, some want to protect its “social license to operate.”

By Grace van Deelen
What if absolutely everything is conscious?
Science

Scientists spent ages mocking panpsychism. Now, some are warming to the idea that plants, cells, and even atoms are conscious.

By Sigal Samuel
How dangerous is it really to have a baby in America?How dangerous is it really to have a baby in America?
Health

The debate over maternal deaths, explained.

By Anna North
Noise canceling can help save your earsNoise canceling can help save your ears
Today, Explained newsletter

We’re probably all listening to music too loudly, alas.

By Caroline Houck
Drug-resistant bacteria are killing more and more humans. We need new weapons.Drug-resistant bacteria are killing more and more humans. We need new weapons.
Future Perfect

Scientists are testing futuristic tools to dismantle antibiotic resistance.

By Cecilia Butini
There’s a secret wildlife wonderland hidden in the US — and it’s in danger
Down to Earth

Countless rare animals lurk under the logs in the Appalachian Mountains.

By Benji Jones
Do we have Alzheimer’s disease all wrong?Do we have Alzheimer’s disease all wrong?
Future Perfect

Retracted studies and new treatments reveal the confusing state of Alzheimer’s research.

By Dylan Scott
Korean sunscreen is all the rage. If you’re American, you might be out of luck.
Culture

Lighter, less greasy, more effective sunscreen exists. So what’s the hold up stateside?

By Alex Abad-Santos
Who’s the father? For these baby animals, one doesn’t exist.
Audio
Unexplainable

More animals can occasionally reproduce asexually than scientists realized.

By Byrd Pinkerton
Elephants have names — and they use them with each otherElephants have names — and they use them with each other
Future Perfect

A new study reveals elephants are more like humans than we realized. What does that mean for the movement for their rights?

By Celia Ford
What if you could have a panic attack, but for joy?
Future Perfect

Mindfulness is one thing. Jhāna meditation is stranger, stronger, and going mainstream.

By Oshan Jarow
The surprisingly subtle recipe making heat waves worseThe surprisingly subtle recipe making heat waves worse
The Vox guide to extreme heat

The anatomy of a heat wave, from “heat domes” to megadroughts.

By Umair Irfan
This changed everything
Life

The turning points that defined the last 10 years.

By Vox Staff
10 big things we think will happen in the next 10 years
Future Perfect

Obesity will go down, electric cars will go up, and a nuclear bomb might just fall.

By Bryan Walsh, Dylan Matthews and 4 more
The last 10 years, explained
Life

The (wild! scary! surprising!) moments that mattered.

By Vox Staff
The internet peaked with “the dress,” and then it unraveled
Science

The ominously perfect meme marked the splintering of our shared reality.

By Brian Resnick
The science of near-death experiencesThe science of near-death experiences
Audio
The Gray Area

What happens when we almost die?

By Sean Illing
Dopamine, explained
Future Perfect

Dopamine detoxing, hacking, and fasting: Is any of it real?

By Celia Ford
How worried should we be about Russia putting a nuke in space?How worried should we be about Russia putting a nuke in space?
World Politics

It’s not there yet — but we should be concerned.

By Joshua Keating
Massive invasive snakes are on the loose and spreading in Puerto Rico
Down to Earth

Runaway pets — and possibly some zoo escapees — have fueled the spread of invasive snakes across the island. It’s an environmental catastrophe in the making.

By Benji Jones
Psychedelics could treat some of the worst chronic pain in the worldPsychedelics could treat some of the worst chronic pain in the world
Future Perfect

Decades of citizen science are finally translating into clinical trials for psychedelic pain treatments.

By Oshan Jarow
Why we’ve been seeing the northern lights so often latelyWhy we’ve been seeing the northern lights so often lately
Science

Scientists are getting better at predicting the sun’s antics.

By Umair Irfan
Why aren’t we vaccinating birds against bird flu?Why aren’t we vaccinating birds against bird flu?
Future Perfect

It’s not as complicated as it seems, but there’s one key hurdle.

By Jess Craig
How the White House just made the world a little safer from biorisksHow the White House just made the world a little safer from biorisks
Future Perfect

New regulations are a win for safe synthetic DNA.

By Kelsey Piper
Your guide to 2024’s rare cicadapocalypseYour guide to 2024’s rare cicadapocalypse
Science

In forests across the United States, two “broods,” of these noisy insects will crawl out from their underground dwellings to sprout wings, mate, lay eggs, and die.

By Vox Staff
Watch Sir David Attenborough seduce a cicada with the snap of his fingersWatch Sir David Attenborough seduce a cicada with the snap of his fingers
Science

How to summon a cicada.

By Brian Resnick and Benji Jones
Should humans get their own geologic era?Should humans get their own geologic era?
Play
Video

The debate over the Anthropocene epoch, explained.

By Laura Bult
Where billions of cicadas will emerge this spring (and over the next decade), in one mapWhere billions of cicadas will emerge this spring (and over the next decade), in one map
Science

Cicadas will hear the call of spring. And then you’ll hear their mating calls, too.

By Brian Resnick
Could bird flu cause a human pandemic?Could bird flu cause a human pandemic?
Even Better

Here’s what’s worrying experts right now about H5N1’s spread among dairy cows — and what isn’t.

By Keren Landman, MD
The failed promise of egg freezing
Health

The costly procedure was supposed to give women a new kind of freedom. Is that what it really offers?

By Anna North