Book Review: The Mystery of Transformation in Nature
In “Metamorphosis,” science historian Oren Harman explores the striking minutiae of biological change, both dissecting the mechanics of how living things shift from one form to another and mining his...
View ArticleMisinformation About the End of Life Is Harming Organ Donation
Thousands of people have removed themselves from organ donor registries in the wake of reports describing patients who were allegedly endangered by organ donation. Some experts warn that the reports...
View ArticleA Struggle to Find Adequate Care for a Common Menstrual Disorder
Across the world, millions of women suffer from premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD, a condition linked with their menstrual cycle and characterized by depression and irritability severe enough to...
View ArticleThe Land That Stores Nearly a Third of the World’s Carbon
Peatlands act as a crucial climate regulator, storing more carbon than all the trees on Earth. But they are increasingly at the center of conflicts over resource extraction, like mining for rare-earth...
View ArticlePutting a Pause on the Practice of Surrogacy
Rising global infertility rates have made surrogacy a multibillion-dollar industry. But concerns about the health risks to surrogates and their babies raise questions over whether the practice is...
View ArticleWill Science Journalism Funders Step Up or Retreat?
Following the 2008 recession, when the journalism industry lost advertising and subscription revenue, foundations filled the funding gap. Now, amid Trump-era turmoil, some worry that commitment may be...
View ArticleWill Science Journalism Funders Step Up or Retreat?
Following the 2008 recession, when the journalism industry lost advertising and subscription revenue, foundations filled the funding gap. Now, amid Trump-era turmoil, some worry that commitment may be...
View ArticleBook Review: The Mixed Blessing of Antibiotics
“Dangerous Miracle,” by biologist Liam Shaw, is a deep investigation into the rise, heyday, and precarious future of antibiotics, a life-saving treatment heralded as a wonder cure for infectious...
View ArticleReflecting on the ‘Crime Gene’ Conference, 30 Years Later
September marked the 30th anniversary of a controversial 1995 conference on the relationship between genetics and criminal behavior. C. Brandon Ogbunu reflects on how this “crime gene” debate...
View ArticleWill Science Journalism Funders Step Up or Retreat?
Following the 2008 recession, when the journalism industry lost advertising and subscription revenue, foundations filled the funding gap. Now, amid Trump-era turmoil, some worry that commitment may be...
View ArticleInvasion Metaphors in Conservation Biology Pose Real-World Risk
In conservation biology, the practice of drawing comparisons between invasive species and human migrants has been highly contentious. This scientific debate has reared its head again, as recent...
View ArticleEPA Readied a Report on One Forever Chemical. Now It’s in Limbo.
Agency scientists found that PFNA could cause developmental, liver, and reproductive harms. Their final report was ready in mid-April, according to an internal document reviewed by ProPublica, but the...
View ArticleInvasion Metaphors in Conservation Biology Pose Real-World Risk
In conservation biology, the practice of drawing comparisons between invasive species and human migrants has been highly contentious. This scientific debate has reared its head again, as recent...
View ArticleWhat the Anti-Sunscreen Movement Misses
New research suggests that exposure to sunlight could have a range of beneficial effects. The best approach may be a personal one that considers a person’s skin tone and seeks to balance the benefits...
View ArticleBook Review: How Childbirth Has Shaped Civilization
“Born,” by historian Lucy Inglis, is a social, medical, and feminist tour of pregnancy and childbirth through the ages, exploring themes of gender roles, medical authority, and bodily autonomy while...
View ArticleNIH Student Grant Cancellation Will Weaken Scientific Innovation
Earlier this year, the National Institutes of Health abruptly terminated fellowships awarded to graduate students under a funding mechanism designed to increase diversity. One student whose grant was...
View ArticlePodcast: How to Cover Science Under Trump
In the Season 2 finale, hosts Brooke Borel and Anna Rothschild talk to Tom Zeller Jr., Undark’s editor-in-chief, about covering science under the Trump administration. While the podcast’s topics are...
View ArticleAs EPA Ends Emissions Data Collection, Climate Groups May Step Up
Last month, the agency announced it would no longer collect emissions data from polluting companies, data which is the backbone of U.S. air quality reporting systems and climate policy. Now, attention...
View ArticleFresh Insights Into the Stubborn Problem of Lead Water Pipes
The health and economic effects of lead exposure through water and lead pipes are already known. But there are still more than 9 million lead service lines across the United States, and new datasets...
View ArticleBook Review: A Call to Arms About the Threat of Anti-Science
In “Science Under Siege,” Michael E. Mann and Peter J. Hotez launch an impassioned broadside against what they see as the attack on science from the right. “Anti-science has already caused serious...
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