Rethinking Herd Immunity
The global rise of “vaccine hesitancy” is changing the landscape of disease transmission
Stories by Lynne Peeples
What the Data Say about Police Shootings
How do racial biases play into deadly encounters with the police? Researchers wrestle with incomplete data to reach answers
How the Next Recession Could Save Lives
Death rates have dropped during past economic downturns, even as many health trends have worsened. Researchers are scrambling to decipher lessons before the next big recession
Rings and Worms Tell the Tale of a Shipwreck Found at Ground Zero [Slide Show]
Researchers were stunned to find an 18th-century ship that had been unearthed by construction workers at the World Trade Center where the Twin Towers once stood. With great care they followed clues in the well-preserved wood to trace the craft's history to the era of the American Revolution...
Staying Negative: How an Unexpected Antiretroviral Result Is Reshaping the Battle Against AIDS
Success of a vaginal microbicide gel reveals how HIV-prevention strategies can emerge from progress in treatment
11 Surprising Natural Lessons from Mount St. Helens
What have scientists learned from 30 years of research and rebirth in the blast zone?
Thin Wallets, Thick Waistlines: New USDA Effort Targets Link between Obesity and Food Stamps
Could added incentives and other changes to the federal food stamp program trim rampant obesity rates among low-income groups?
Making Scents of Sounds: Noises May Alter How We Perceive Odors
The neural basis for "smound" may have been uncovered
Are Coyotes or Humans the Perpetrators of Suburban Animal Attacks?
Research into both coyote and human behavior informs strategies to reduce urban-nature clashes and make peace with animal neighbors
The Bigger Kahuna: Are More Frequent and Higher Extreme Ocean Waves a By-Product of Global Warming?
Increasing maximum wave heights off the Pacific Northwest coast may pose a greater threat than rising sea levels
Baked Australia: Water Management Lessons for the World from Down Under
Australia is at the forefront of a global water crisis. Some of the management lessons learned there could help bail out California and other parched regions before they meet the same fate...
Greenhouse Rock: Stone-Cold Data from Ancient Glacial Deposits May Help Reveal Future Climate Change
Scientists are developing sophisticated tools to trace the paths of glaciers, unearthing previously unknown pieces of the climate record
iSniff: Pocket-Size Pollution Sensors Promise Big Improvement in Monitoring Personal Environment
Scientists are employing improved monitors in efforts to pinpoint air pollutants that cause childhood disease
Can fearful memories be erased?
In the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , Joel and Clementine's relationship ends so sourly that the couple elects to have their mutual memories swept away via a non-surgical procedure called "targeted memory erasure." No such tool actually exists...
The Real Sea Monsters: On the Hunt for Rogue Waves
Scientists hope a better understanding of when, where and how mammoth oceanic waves form can someday help ships steer clear of danger
Music to Monkeys' Ears? Try Metallica, or the Metro
Music is known to induce terror and tears, as well as inspire dance. Even basic human speech itself is laced with emotional direction: a musical pattern of long drawn out sounds versus short brief ones can be the difference between calming and exciting a child...
Did Lactose Tolerance First Evolve in Central, Rather Than Northern Europe?
Tolerance for cow's milk may have arisen in the Neolithic period among the Linearbandkeramik culture of central Europe, not with the Lutefisk-lovers of Scandinavia
Death of the directory: When was the last time you opened a phone book?
They can be used to press flowers—or as a booster seat, door stop or laptop desk. However, fewer and fewer phone books today are employed as originally intended—to look up telephone numbers...
