Life

Health, science, climate, and society-focused reporting.

Briefing: Study points to opportunity for governments to work with public on use of AI

Strategic angle: A major new study suggests people's direct experience with artificial intelligence has little impact on their views about its role in government decision-making.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

NASA stops work on SLS Mobile Launcher 2

Strategic angle: NASA has stopped work on a second mobile launch platform intended for an upgraded version of the Space Launch System the agency no longer plans to develop. The post NASA stops work on SLS Mobile Launcher 2 appeared first

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: The dual self-assembly network: A new chapter in 3D-printable hydrogels

Strategic angle: A breakthrough in creating adaptable materials that mimic biological tissue.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: Thousands in Texas protest against border wall through national park: ‘big love for Big Bend’

Strategic angle: Rally met with bipartisan support after US border patrol revealed plans for steel wall across parts of beloved parks.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: Coral reef science must adapt for a chance to outpace climate change, say experts

Strategic angle: Scientists call for a major acceleration in coral assisted evolution research to help reefs cope with rapidly warming oceans.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: It takes a village: How cooperative breeding has shaped Lake Tanganyika fish

Strategic angle: "It takes a village to raise a child" doesn't apply merely to humans. Many species of mammals, birds, fish, and various invertebrates have evolved complex social care systems known as cooperative breeding.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: Does AI mean more university students are plagiarizing their work?

Strategic angle: The rise of AI tools raises concerns about increased plagiarism among university students.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: Bennu sample reveals how water flowed through the newly forming asteroid

Strategic angle: A team of US astronomers has conducted a deep analysis of a sample from the asteroid Bennu, uncovering insights into the interaction of water and organic material in the early solar system.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: The revolution in dinosaur science started 50 years ago—here's what we have learned

Strategic angle: The study of dinosaurs has undergone significant changes, beginning with groundbreaking research by Robert McNeill Alexander.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: TESS spots the rise of a black hole X-ray binary system

Strategic angle: NASA's TESS has observed the outburst of a black hole X-ray binary, AT 2019wey, providing insights into cosmic phenomena.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: The largest survey of exoplanet spins confirms a long-held prediction

Strategic angle: Astronomers have found a significant link between planetary mass and rotation rates in their latest survey of exoplanets.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: Stopping algae blooms with bacteria-busting buoys

Strategic angle: A team has designed innovative buoys to combat harmful cyanobacteria in water bodies.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: NISAR Captures Stunning Image of Mount St. Helens

Strategic angle: The U.S.-Indian Earth satellite NISAR reveals a new perspective of Washington's iconic volcano.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: Climate experts say spring is coming earlier. How will that affect agriculture and ecosystems?

Strategic angle: An earlier spring affects when migratory birds arrive, leaves emerge, and fruit ripens — among plants and animals that determine ecosystem health.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: Artemis II Astronauts to Rely on Vision for Lunar Studies

Strategic angle: In a surprising move, astronauts on the Artemis II mission will primarily use their eyes to observe the Moon's surface during their flyby.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: Exploding primordial black holes might have reshaped the early universe, and created all matter as we know it

Strategic angle: The early universe was a chaotic mix of quarks and gluons, potentially influenced by primordial black holes.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: Scientists found a protein that drives brain aging — and how to stop it

Strategic angle: A new study reveals the role of the FTL1 protein in brain aging and potential interventions.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: Rice’s whales predate modern humans. Now Trump could make them extinct

Strategic angle: The US has invoked national security to remove protections for the endangered cetacean, of which only about 50 are left.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: These rock-climbing fish can shimmy up a 50-foot waterfall

Strategic angle: New research from the Democratic Republic of Congo offers a behavioral and anatomical portrait of a species that can achieve surprising athletic feats.

Editorial Staff Apr 5

Life

Briefing: Artemis II toilet acts up again as astronauts speed toward the moon to break Apollo 13's record

Strategic angle: Now more than halfway to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts prepared for their historic lunar fly-around to push deeper into space than even the Apollo astronauts.

Editorial Staff Apr 5