Climate Change
Drones Bearing Parcels Deliver Big Carbon Savings
Last-mile delivery by a small drone takes much less energy per package than delivery by diesel truck
Stories by Nature magazine
Climate Change
In Memoriam: James Lovelock (1919–2022)
The inventor who introduced the Gaia hypothesis to environmental science leaves behind a rich legacy
Epidemiology
The Risk of Heart Disease after COVID
Some studies suggest that the risk of cardiovascular problems, such as a heart attack or stroke, remains high even many months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection clears up
Archaeology
How Humans’ Ability to Digest Milk Evolved from Famine and Disease
A landmark study is the first major effort to quantify how lactose tolerance developed
Medicine
The Hunt for Drugs for Mild COVID
People who are unlikely to develop severe COVID-19 have no widely approved medications to ease the illness
Epidemiology
COVID Variants Found in Sewage Weeks before Showing Up in Tests
A technique that detects coronavirus strains circulating in a community could become an early-warning system
Policy
What Researchers Know about Gun Policies’ Effectiveness
Studies are “decades behind,” owing to a lack of funding, but research is picking up
Mathematics
Ukrainian Mathematician Becomes Second Woman to Win Prestigious Fields Medal
Maryna Viazovska, who works on the geometry of spheres, is one of four winners of the coveted prize this year
Animals
A Person Got COVID from a Cat in First Confirmed Case
Scientists in Thailand have established that a tabby passed SARS-CoV-2 to a veterinary surgeon—although such cases of cat-to-human transmission are probably rare
Climate Change
Climate Change Is Turning More of Central Asia into Desert
The rapid expansion will have significant impacts on ecosystems and the people and animals who rely on them
Pollution
Racism Drives Environmental Inequality—But Most Americans Don’t Realize
Survey finds that most people think poverty is why pollution disproportionately affects Black people, despite evidence that racism is the major cause
Pharmaceuticals
New COVID Drugs Face Delays as Trials Get Harder to Do
The success of vaccines has reduced the pool of people available for studies, among other factors
Space Exploration
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Begins Key Search for Life on Mars
Rolling up an ancient river delta in Jezero Crater, the rover starts crucial rock sampling.
Space Exploration
‘Unsustainable’: How Satellite Swarms Pose a Rising Threat to Astronomy
SpaceX and other companies are still struggling to make their satellites darker in the night sky
Epidemiology
Monkeypox Outbreaks: 4 Key Questions Scientists Have
Researchers are racing to understand the latest monkeypox outbreaks—from their origins to whether they can be contained
Epidemiology
Why Unprecedented Bird Flu Outbreaks Are Concerning Scientists
Mass infections in wild birds pose a significant risk to vulnerable species, are hard to contain and increase the opportunity for the virus to spill over into people
Epidemiology
Long COVID Risk Falls Only Slightly after Vaccination
Results from a large study suggest that vaccines offer less protection against lingering symptoms than expected
Medicine
A Deluge of New Drugs for COVID
Two years into the pandemic, the COVID-19 drugs pipeline is primed to pump out novel treatments—and fresh uses for familiar therapies.
Extraterrestrial Life
Origin of Life Theory Involving RNA-Protein Hybrid Gets New Support
A structure that links amino acids suggests that early organisms could have been based on an RNA-protein mix
Astronomy
A Galaxy Is Unmasked as a Pulsar—The Brightest outside the Milky Way
Using a technique to block certain wavelengths of light, researchers hope to discover many more hidden pulsars
