Feature

  1. An image of a rainbow tie dye background with two frogs, ants, fish and coral overlays.
    Animals

    The Sonoran Desert toad can alter your mind — it’s not the only animal

    Their psychedelic and other potentially mind-bending compounds didn't evolve to give people a trip.

    By Deborah Balthazar
  2. A photo of a person standing next to a snow mobile and a stack of supplies with tracks in the snow disappearing into the distance.
    Earth

    A massive cavern beneath a West Antarctic glacier is teeming with life

    A subglacial river has carved out the cavern beneath the Kamb Ice Stream, a West Antarctic glacier, and may be supplying nutrients necessary for life.

    By Douglas Fox
  3. A photo of the Great Salt Lake with the dried gray ground and a bright blue sky in the background.
    Earth

    The Great Salt Lake is shrinking. What can we do to stop it?

    A dropping lake level affects agriculture, public health and the environment — but water conservation can halt the decline.

    By Brianna Randall
  4. a side profile of a young man sitting in a classroom taking notes at a desk. He is looking at another young man next to him, who is also writing. Overlaid over the second student are animations suggesting computing, algorithms and artificial intelligence
    Tech

    How ChatGPT and similar AI will disrupt education

    The new chatbot ChatGPT and other generative AI encourage cheating and offer up incorrect info, but they could also be used for good.

    By Kathryn Hulick
  5. An overhead photo of the many different and brightly colored homes all clustered together on a small island while surround by a green sea.
    Climate

    How an Indigenous community in Panama is escaping rising seas

    The Indigenous Guna peoples' relocation from Panama could offer lessons for other communities threatened by climate change.

    By Melba Newsome
  6. illustration showing rotting mean, fruit, vegetables and an animal carcass
    Anthropology

    A surprising food may have been a staple of the real Paleo diet: rotten meat

    The realization that people have long eaten putrid foods has archaeologists rethinking what Neandertals and other ancient hominids ate.

    By Bruce Bower
  7. A photo of a city street with over large bits of microplastics overlaying the image.
    Health & Medicine

    Microplastics are in our bodies. Here’s why we don’t know the health risks

    Researchers are racing to try to understand how much humans are exposed and what levels are toxic.

    By Anne Pinto-Rodrigues
  8. photo of Wilfried Mutombo Kalonji looking at a slide under a microscope as another scientist stands in the background
    Health & Medicine

    Sleeping sickness is nearing elimination. An experimental drug could help

    Clinical trials of acoziborole are under way in sub-Saharan Africa, where sleeping sickness is endemic.

    By Meghan Rosen
  9. An overhead image of tomatoes in four crates.
    Agriculture

    Dry farming could help agriculture in the western U.S. amid climate change

    Some farmers in the western United States are forgoing irrigation, which can save on water and produce more flavorful fruits and vegetables.

    By Katherine Kornei
  10. An illustration of a shattered clock face with cogs, gears, bits of glass, and other parts scattered around.
    Health & Medicine

    Trauma distorts our sense of time and self. A new therapy might help

    The therapy has helped veterans struggling with mental illness imagine their future selves.

    By Sujata Gupta
  11. NASA Rover Perseverance takes a selfie on Mars
    Space

    What has Perseverance found in two years on Mars?

    NASA's Perseverance rover has turned up volcanic rocks, signs of flowing water and some of the materials necessary for life.

    By Liz Kruesi
  12. An illustration of a person's head in profile created with words.
    Health & Medicine

    A chemical imbalance doesn’t explain depression. So what does?

    The causes of depression are much more complex than the serotonin hypothesis suggests

    By Laura Sanders