Life

Health, science, climate, and society-focused reporting.

Briefing: Space Force budget would more than double in Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense plan

Strategic angle: $71 billion request for the U.S. Space Force for fiscal year 2027 includes more than $60 billion for procurement, research and development.

editorial-staff Apr 4

Life

Briefing: Why forest loss is making our watersheds leak rain

Strategic angle: The connection between forests and water is crucial, as studies reveal the impact of deforestation on watershed health.

editorial-staff Apr 4

Life

Briefing: Microscopic mechanism of 'quantum collapse' in real-world environments uncovered for the first time

Strategic angle: A research team has elucidated how quantum order is lost in natural open quantum environments.

editorial-staff Apr 4

Life

Briefing: Illuminated in Orion

Strategic angle: NASA astronaut Christina Koch reads on a tablet in the dimly lit Orion crew capsule.

editorial-staff Apr 4

Life

Briefing: New study pinpoints climate conditions for restoring the endangered butternut tree

Strategic angle: A new study from Virginia Tech offers hope for the endangered butternut tree's recovery in North America.

editorial-staff Apr 4

Life

Briefing: Do narcissists ruin relationships over time? A six-year study suggests a more complex pattern

Strategic angle: New research from Michigan State University challenges the popular assumption that narcissists gradually damage their relationships over time.

editorial-staff Apr 4

Life

Briefing: New insights into hornification could strengthen the future of paper production

Strategic angle: Research reveals complexities in the hornification process affecting paper properties.

editorial-staff Apr 4

Life

Briefing: Iridium's Hidden Surface Chemistry May Change How Hydrogen and Chlorine Are Made

Strategic angle: Discover how iridium's unique properties could revolutionize electrochemical processes for hydrogen and chlorine production.

editorial-staff Apr 4

Life

Briefing: Artemis mission shares office space—and physics—with Apollo

Strategic angle: As four astronauts whiz toward a flyby of the moon, mission control experts utilize cutting-edge technology and lessons from the Apollo program.

editorial-staff Apr 4

Life

Briefing: Our modern vision evolved from an ancient one‑eyed worm creature

Strategic angle: It's easy to take our eyes for granted. But our recent research shows they took an incredible evolutionary journey to reach their current familiar form.

editorial-staff Apr 4

Life

Briefing: 58 tortillas, five hot sauces and one toilet: life aboard spacecraft Orion

Strategic angle: They're sipping smoothies, snapping phone pics, dealing with crashed email and fixing broken toilets: astronauts, they're just like us.

editorial-staff Apr 4

Life

Briefing: NASA's water-hunting tool will help scout moon's South Pole

Strategic angle: NASA is joining international partners to hunt for ice on the moon in support of future human exploration.

editorial-staff Apr 4

Life

Briefing: These overlooked brain cells may control fear and PTSD

Strategic angle: Astrocytes play a crucial role in fear memory, influencing how we form, recall, and weaken fear responses.

editorial-staff Apr 4

Life

Briefing: Artemis 2 in good shape cruising towards the moon

Strategic angle: A day after lighting its engine to head to the moon, the Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft is performing well with only minor issues.

editorial-staff Apr 4

Life

Massive budget cuts for US science proposed again by Trump administration

editorial-staff Apr 3

Life

Briefing: Tiny African fish caught climbing to the top of a 50-foot waterfall

Strategic angle: For over half a century, tales of fish climbing waterfalls in Central Africa have circulated, but now they have been officially confirmed.

editorial-staff Apr 3

Life

Briefing: Exposing secret night operations between hawkmoths and Japan's black-nectar flowers

Strategic angle: Researchers uncover the crucial role of nocturnal hawkmoths in pollinating a unique Japanese plant.

editorial-staff Apr 3

Life

Briefing: Can unpaved roads and watersheds co-exist? Researchers wade into the question

Strategic angle: A study investigates the impact of unpaved roads on local watersheds and drinking water sources.

editorial-staff Apr 3

Life

Briefing: A tiny detector for microwave photons could advance quantum tech

Strategic angle: Detecting microwave photons may revolutionize quantum technology.

editorial-staff Apr 3

Life

Briefing: High-throughput platform helps engineer fast-acting covalent protein drugs

Strategic angle: A team at Westlake University has developed a new platform to create rapid-acting protein therapeutics.

editorial-staff Apr 3