It’s Time to Reinvent the Rape Kit
While other forensic tools have leapt into the digital age, the rape kit — a ubiquitous but overlooked instrument — remains stuck in the 1970s. When used correctly, it can identify violent criminals...
View ArticleIn Gaza, Satellites Show 157,200 Damaged or Destroyed Buildings
The Decentralized Damage Mapping Group, an ad hoc association of about 18 researchers worldwide, came together last fall to increase the understanding and use of satellite data for monitoring the...
View ArticleReduce the Use of Incubators to Address Infant Mortality
The World Health Organization recommends that all preterm infants receive at least 8 hours of skin-to-skin contact with a caregiver — known as kangaroo mother care, or KMC — beginning immediately after...
View ArticleBook Excerpt: In Animals, the Thin Line Between Play and Dreaming
Psychologists and cognitive scientists are probing the mysteries of play and dreaming among animals, which may be intimately connected. Since dogs, horses, birds, and many other creatures dream,...
View ArticlePaul M. Sutter Thinks We’re Doing Science (and Journalism) Wrong
In a spirited conversation centered on his new book, astrophysicist Paul M. Sutter has a lot to say about the public’s lack of trust in science, and how it can be fixed. He also has plenty to say about...
View ArticleIt’s Time to Reinvent the Rape Kit
While other forensic tools have leapt into the digital age, the rape kit — a ubiquitous but overlooked instrument — remains stuck in the 1970s. When used correctly, it can identify violent criminals...
View ArticlePaul M. Sutter Thinks We’re Doing Science (and Journalism) Wrong
In a spirited conversation centered on his new book, astrophysicist Paul M. Sutter has a lot to say about the public’s lack of trust in science, and how it can be fixed. He also has plenty to say about...
View ArticleIt’s Time to Reinvent the Rape Kit
While other forensic tools have leapt into the digital age, the rape kit — a ubiquitous but overlooked instrument — remains stuck in the 1970s. When used correctly, it can identify violent criminals...
View ArticleNew Genetic Tools Have Dramatically Changed Wildlife Conservation
In the rapidly growing field of eDNA, technological innovation has been key to surveying biodiversity. And while some scientists continue to use traditional methods, others are also banking on tools...
View ArticleIn Wisconsin, Satellites Spotlight Illegal Manure Spreading
A group of scientists are analyzing satellite images to teach computers to recognize when farmers butter the land with livestock poop in winter, a largely restricted but suspectedly pervasive practice...
View ArticleTo Mars and Back: Will NASA’s Ambitious Endeavor Be Worth It?
A complex mission to retrieve samples from the red planet is in the works. But while it’s been a long-time priority for the planetary science community, the project’s ballooning budget — which has led...
View ArticleUkrainian Scientific Collections Need Protection During War
Scientific collections housed in museums, archives, and libraries are part of a country’s cultural heritage. During its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army targeted cultural properties for...
View ArticleBook Excerpt: How Robots Have Become Trusted Surgical Assistants
Despite what we see in science fiction movies, intelligent machines cannot perform surgeries alone. But highly trained human surgeons are using an emerging generation of cutting-edge robots as another...
View ArticleThe Allure and Dangers of Experimenting With Brain-Dead Bodies
Surging interest in xenotransplantation, the implanting of non-human animal parts into human bodies, has cast a spotlight on the use of brain-dead subjects in medical research. Such studies fall into a...
View ArticleA Weak Spot in Carbon Sequestration: Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells
A new report highlights the risk that 120,000 abandoned oil and gas wells pose to underground carbon dioxide storage in Louisiana, home to more proposals to pump the greenhouse gas underground than any...
View ArticleOn the Horizon: A Booming eDNA Marketplace
As supporters lobby for regulatory acceptance, a group of large consulting companies and eDNA specialists see the tool as a promising way to monitor corporate sustainability. Experts say eDNA has...
View ArticleFailure to Define Long Covid Will Impede Research Progress
Some people who get Covid-19 experience symptoms long after the initial illness, developing what’s known as long Covid. But a lack of consensus over the diagnostic criteria for the condition has...
View ArticleBook Review: Confronting the Slow Calamity of Climate Migration
In “On the Move,” Abrahm Lustgarten explores the profound demographic impact that global warming will have on Americans as millions become displaced and in search of more habitable places to settle,...
View ArticleA Common Gene Test Could Save Lives From Chemo Drug Overdose
The chemotherapy drug fluorouracil, known as 5-FU, kills an estimated 1 in 1,000 patients, but a gene test can often uncover those who may be at risk of death or severe side effects. With only 3...
View ArticleThe Contested World of Classifying Life on Earth
There exists no single, unified list of all species. Taxonomists in different fields don’t always define specimens the same way; a single organism might have multiple scientific names, or, conversely,...
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