Life

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

Briefing: Could reduced air pollution from climate mitigation boost crop yields and lower hunger risk?

Strategic angle: An international research team found that climate mitigation consistent with the 1.5 °C target could raise global hunger risk in 2050 by 17% compared to a baseline scenario.

editorial-staff Mar 16

Life

Briefing: New technologies promise to transform organ transplantation. But when?

Strategic angle: Perfusion technology vastly improves organ quality in transplants, but high costs and coverage questions pose barriers in becoming the standard of care.

editorial-staff Mar 16

Life

Briefing: Opinion: Congress must pass legislation to ensure Medicare covers breakthrough medical technologies

Strategic angle: Congress must pass bipartisan legislation to ensure Medicare coverage of breakthrough medical technologies, writes a physician and inventor.

editorial-staff Mar 16

Life

Briefing: Opinion: I have a genetic mutation linked to ALS. The Trump administration terrifies me

Strategic angle: "Watching my mom die of ALS was one of the most awful things I’ve gone through. I don’t want my children to see me suffer like that."

editorial-staff Mar 16

Life

Briefing: 4 ways Trump is sabotaging climate action around the world

Strategic angle: In just the last year, the Trump administration has derailed an international carbon tax, boosted forecasts for oil and gas, and sought to silence an island nation’s climate campaign.

editorial-staff Mar 16

Life

Briefing: Cells can sense 10x farther than expected and it may explain cancer spread

Strategic angle: Scientists have discovered that cells can sense far beyond the surfaces they touch, shedding light on cancer cell behavior.

editorial-staff Mar 16

Life

Briefing: Archaeologists untangle how Bronze Age textiles were made

Strategic angle: Analysis and reconstruction of a warp-weighted loom from the second millennium BC site of Cabezo Redondo, Spain, provides an unprecedented glimpse into the development of textile technology in the Bronze Age western Mediterranean.

editorial-staff Mar 16

Life

Briefing: Starcloud files plans for 88,000-satellite constellation

Strategic angle: An orbital data center startup is seeking approval from the Federal Communications Commission for a constellation of as many as 88,000 satellites.

editorial-staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: Pesticides from flea treatments and sheep dips found at damaging levels in Welsh rivers

Strategic angle: New research reveals alarming levels of pesticides in Welsh rivers, posing potential environmental risks.

editorial-staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: 'Life is a miracle,' but learning from disasters isn't: Lessons from Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami

Strategic angle: Exploring the impact and lessons learned from the catastrophic events in Japan.

editorial-staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: Rising seas threaten barrier islands, but seabird guano could speed recovery

Strategic angle: Research reveals how seabird droppings can aid the recovery of coastal ecosystems threatened by rising sea levels.

editorial-staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: New microscope offers sharper view into momentum space

Strategic angle: A groundbreaking microscope enhances our understanding of electron behavior in materials.

editorial-staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: Avalanche risks are rising—researchers say governance must rise with them

Strategic angle: A new study reveals that effective governance and preparedness are crucial in mitigating the impact of increasing avalanche risks.

editorial-staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: Models warn Thwaites Glacier could rival entire Antarctic ice loss by 2067

Strategic angle: The future of one of Antarctica's most iconic glaciers could be far more dramatic than scientists previously thought.

editorial-staff Mar 15

Life

Briefing: Physicists break longstanding high-temperature superconductivity record at ambient pressure

Strategic angle: A breakthrough by researchers at the University of Houston could revolutionize superconductivity applications.

editorial-staff Mar 15

Life

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