Abstracts: CRISPR, Cassini, and More
A new tool based on CRISPR could be a quick and cheap diagnostic tool. Saturn's moon Enceladus might be hospitable for alien microbes. A Star Trek-inspired health kit can diagnose thirteen ailments and...
View ArticleMillions of Lakes, Shallower Than Expected
Efforts to measure the volume and depth of lakes often involve rowing a boat around a body of water and tediously collecting myriad measurements. As a result, estimates varied widely. A new model makes...
View ArticleAt the Science March, Negotiating Divisions Over the Role of Diversity
The battle over diversity reflects the way science itself is torn by questions of value and representation, exposing the march to fire from those who believe that diversity is paramount and those who...
View ArticleAbstracts: March for Science, ISS, and More
Psychologists are optimistic that this weekend's March for Science might also break down stubborn stereotypes around scientists by showing students what scientists actually look like. Australia...
View ArticleFive Questions for David Autor
The real impacts of automation and artificial intelligence on employment has sparked disagreement among a wide range of stakeholders. To sort through some of the debate, Undark contacted Autor, a...
View ArticleAbstracts: Optimism Summit, Opioids, and More
While many scientists and their supporters took to the streets of D.C. this weekend, others held the first Earth Optimism Summit just a few blocks away. The FDA issued new warnings about children...
View ArticleSaving America’s Broken Prairie
The grasslands of central North America have declined in total area by approximately 79 percent since European settlers arrived in the early 1800s — and new pressures threaten to wipe out what’s left....
View ArticleMore Frequent Smaller Floods Lead to Higher Costs Over Time
Extreme floods like those that hit Raleigh, North Carolina this week grab the attention of media and policymakers. But an analysis finds that increasingly frequent minor floods that make streets...
View ArticleThe March for Science Was About Much More Than Trump
Saturday's marches served as a coming-out party for an unapologetically activist and political, if nonpartisan, movement. Its grass-roots activism is based on spontaneous participation and the idea...
View ArticleAbstracts: Bones, Wombs, Diabetes, and More
A new method allows scientists to make bones transparent by melting away lipids, a first for hard tissues. A uranium-throntium dating technology suggests that the first humans came to North America in...
View ArticleAward-Winning Nautilus Enters Rough Waters
Murmurings within the science writing community suggest that not all is well at Nautilus, the highbrow science and culture magazine launched precisely four years ago this weekend. And while the...
View ArticleUndark Podcast #14: America’s Broken Prairie
Our podcast host, David Corcoran, discusses Undark’s latest Case Study on the fast-disappearing American prairie, with writer David J. Unger. Also: Seth Mnookin on the media and the March for Science,...
View ArticleAbstracts: Climate March, Animal Welfare, and More
The People's Climate March was held in Washington, D.C. and hundreds of other cities around the world on Saturday. The USDA responded to a request for information on the removal of its animal welfare...
View ArticleFar From Being a Burden, Research Suggests Refugees Come With Benefits
Refugees need food, clothes, shelter, and health care, and their kids need schooling. The common assumption is that they burden the economy of the country that takes them in, and President Trump has...
View ArticleThe Forever Debate: Is Burning Wood for Electricity a Good Idea?
Scientists and politicians have long debated the precise benefits and costs of burning wood for electricity. Advocates for the technology consider it a no-brainer, while critics say that counting its...
View ArticleScience as Service: The Role of Researchers as Public Advocates
The March for Science late last month was an amazing public display. But to become a successful movement, scientists must continue to build political power — not just for science and scientific...
View ArticleHard-Sciences Magazine Goes to the Next Level
A few generations ago, readers and leaders expected the U.S. news media to provide strong, authoritative coverage of basic science and math. That era has largely passed. Fortunately, a new crop of...
View ArticleAbstracts: Ice, Water, Nocebo Effect, and More
India's Silicon Valley is battling droughts and water deficits, and dying of thirst. Thawing ice leads to plans for ice-breaking boats and shipping lines through the Arctic. A new study diagnoses...
View ArticleListening to the Thoughts of the Forest
Of the people in the room, the most powerful had apparently spent little or no time in the Cumberland Plateau forests in question. They’d never wormed their fingers in the fungus-raveled leaf litter,...
View ArticleA Month in the Life of a Stem Cell Lab
For over a month, I was embedded in the daily life of a laboratory at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. I watched and photographed the researchers as they worked, and talked with them about what they...
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