Science

CLIMATEWIRE | Scientists across the country are in turmoil as President Donald Trump wages an assault on U.S. research. They’re worried about their funding and job security. They’re censoring their language around topics like climate change and diversity. And they’re wondering what kinds of science they’ll be allowed to conduct in a rapidly shifting U.S. […]

One evening in 1951 astronomer William Wilson Morgan was strolling home from Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin when he looked up at the night sky and had a “flash inspiration … a creative intuitional burst.” It solved one of the great mysteries of astronomy. The observable universe contains billions, possibly even trillions, of galaxies. With a

February 18, 2025 4 min read Broken Legs and Ankles Heal Better If You Walk on Them within Weeks Using crutches for months is largely a thing of the past. Early weight-bearing has real benefits By Lydia Denworth edited by Josh Fischman Twenty years ago my husband, Mark, broke his left ankle and was in

Inside a laboratory nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, amid a labyrinth of lenses, mirrors, and other optical machinery bolted to a vibration-resistant table, an apparatus resembling a chimney pipe rises toward the ceiling. On a recent visit, the silvery pipe held a cloud of thousands of supercooled cesium atoms launched upward by

February 18, 2025 5 min read Immigration Fuels Innovation in Science to Make the U.S. More Competitive The U.S. will need more than one million STEM workers in the next 10 years to stay competitive. Immigrants are critical to that future By The Editors edited by Megha Satyanarayana In late December 2024 a social media

February 18, 2025 3 min read A Fascinating Sparrow, Aha! Moments and Local Flowers Astronomers search for missing planets, a salty food movement takes hold, and it may be time to redefine the second By Jeanna Bryner Scientific American, March 2025 The best stories are those that draw you in with intrigue, visuals and characters,

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For centuries our solar system was the only planetary system known to humans. We had no proof other worlds existed beyond those in our own cosmic backyard, and we imagined that if other planetary systems were out there, they would mirror ours: small, rocky worlds orbiting close to their stars, with giant planets similar to

This article was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center. Twenty years ago Dutch farmer Hubrecht Janse realized the tide was about to turn on his third-generation family business in the Netherlands. In 2004 the country’s government installed a sluice gate in a dam that separated the glittering blue Lake Veere from the North Sea.

February 18, 2025 3 min read Science History from 50, 100 and 150 Years Ago Color blindness; the end of fire By Mark Fischetti 1975, Color Blindness: “People with protanopia cannot distinguish between green and red or colors in between. Color blocks (top row) simulate the appearance of lights that they judge as identical. People