Life

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

Briefing: North America 'heat dome' left winners and losers: Study

Strategic angle: A new study reveals the ecological impact of North America's 2021 heat wave, highlighting both catastrophic and unexpected consequences.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: TESS discovers a super-Earth exoplanet orbiting nearby star

Strategic angle: Astronomers have found a new super-Earth exoplanet using TESS, located 83 light years away.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: Could a recently detected ultra-high-energy neutrino be linked to new physics?

Strategic angle: Neutrinos are extremely lightweight and electrically neutral particles that rarely interact with ordinary matter, potentially carrying information about high-energy cosmic events.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: Notions of 'Christendom' often miss the mark: Medieval Europe's ideas about faith and power were not so simple

Strategic angle: Exploring the complexities of faith and power in Medieval Europe beyond simplistic notions of 'Christendom'.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: ATCA Observations Probe Peculiar Pulsar Wind Nebula Vela X

Strategic angle: Astronomers utilize the Australia Telescope Compact Array to explore the enigmatic Vela X pulsar wind nebula.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: The financial crisis that quietly stunted a generation

Strategic angle: The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s had lasting impacts on children's health in Indonesia.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

Life

Good news for wastewater irrigation: Three crops store pharmaceutical byproducts in their leaves

Farmers in water-scarce areas can safely use treated wastewater for irrigation, as certain crops can absorb and store pharmaceutical byproducts.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: Scientists discover ALS protein that links DNA repair to cancer and dementia

Strategic angle: A protein tied to ALS and dementia may have a much bigger role in disease than scientists realized.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: Hidden deep-sea proteins could supercharge disease tests

Strategic angle: Scientists discover resilient DNA-binding proteins in extreme environments, promising advancements in disease testing.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: A donut-shaped protein breaks apart to start bacterial cell division

Strategic angle: Researchers uncover the mechanism behind bacterial cell division involving the MraZ protein.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: NASA launches twin spacecraft to solve the mystery of Mars’ lost atmosphere

Strategic angle: Mars didn’t always look like the barren world we see today. Over billions of years, the Sun’s solar wind stripped away much of its atmosphere.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: NASA’s Curiosity rover investigates strange spiderweb ridges on Mars

Strategic angle: Curiosity rover explores unique formations that may uncover Mars' watery past.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: Scared of spiders? Scientists say the real nightmare is losing them

Strategic angle: Spiders and insects are crucial for ecosystem health, yet 90% of North America's species lack conservation status.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: Bird losses are accelerating across North America, particularly in farming regions where agriculture is most intensive

Strategic angle: Since the 1970s, the U.S. has lost billions of birds, with losses accelerating in areas of intensive human activity.

Editorial Staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: Crocodiles can have extra growth cycles in a year: Why this matters for estimating the age of dinosaurs

Strategic angle: New research reveals that crocodiles may experience additional growth cycles annually, impacting how we estimate the age of dinosaurs.

Editorial Staff Mar 14

Life

Briefing: Not one ring but many: Antioxidant enzyme family can assemble in far more diverse ways than previously thought

Strategic angle: New research reveals the complex assembly of peroxiredoxins, crucial enzymes in managing oxidative stress.

Editorial Staff Mar 14

Life

Briefing: How we turned plastic waste into vinegar: A sunlight‑powered breakthrough

Strategic angle: A groundbreaking method transforms plastic waste into vinegar using sunlight, addressing a major environmental challenge.

Editorial Staff Mar 14

Life

Briefing: Deep-sea natural compound targets cancer cells through a dual mechanism

Strategic angle: A collaborative research team has uncovered a previously unknown mechanism of action of yaku'amide B, a natural product derived from deep-sea sponge.

Editorial Staff Mar 14

Life

Briefing: Alaska's glacial lakes are expanding, increasing the risk of destructive outburst floods

Strategic angle: Residents near Juneau are on high alert as rising water levels signal potential flooding from glacier-dammed lakes.

Editorial Staff Mar 14

Life

Briefing: Eaton fire sent a pollution wave across Los Angeles, study shows

Strategic angle: A new study reveals the 2025 Eaton fire significantly increased carbon monoxide and particulate matter levels in Los Angeles.

Editorial Staff Mar 14