Space
‘Off-Earth’ asks how to build a better future in space
As humans prepare to live in space someday, ethics should be as much of guide as science and technology, an astrophysicist argues in a new book.
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Cover Story
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.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Animals
Some young sea spiders can regrow their rear ends
Juvenile sea spiders can regenerate nearly all of their bottom halves — including muscles and the anus — or make do without them.
Notebook
Environment
Air pollution made an impression on Monet and other 19th century painters
The impressionist painting style can be partly explained by the reality of rising air pollution from the industrial revolution, an analysis finds.
Features
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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.
More Stories from the March 25, 2023 issue
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Health & MedicineHere’s how lemon juice may fend off kidney stones
Lemon nanoparticles slowed formation of kidney stones in rats. If the sacs work the same way in people, they could help prevent the painful crystals.
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PaleontologyInsect bites in plant fossils reveal leaves could fold shut millions of years ago
The 252-million-year-old fossil leaves have symmetrical holes, which suggest an insect bit through the leaves when they were folded.
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ArchaeologyAncient DNA unveils disparate fates of Ice Age hunter-gatherers in Europe
Ancient DNA unveils two regional populations that lived in what is now Europe and made similar tools but met different fates.
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EnvironmentThe Deepwater Horizon oil spill ruined long-term shore stability
For at least eight years, the oil disaster continued to kill soil-retaining marsh plants along the Louisiana coast, accelerating shoreline loss.
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Health & MedicineA new treatment could restore some mobility in people paralyzed by strokes
Electrodes placed along the spine helped two stroke patients in a small pilot study regain control of their hands and arms almost immediately.
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Health & MedicineMedicated eye drops may delay nearsightedness in children
Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a growing global health threat. But a Hong Kong study found that medicated eye drops may delay its onset in children.
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Health & MedicineA gel cocktail uses the body’s sugars to ‘grow’ electrodes in living fish
A chemical reaction with the body’s own sugars turned a gel cocktail into a conducting material inside zebrafish brains, hearts and tail fins.
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Health & MedicineAn antibody injection could one day help people with endometriosis
An injectable antibody treatment that reduced signs of endometriosis in monkeys is now being tested in a Phase 1 clinical trial in people.
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CosmologyAstronomers spotted shock waves shaking the web of the universe for the first time
Studying these elusive shock waves could give scientists a better look at the mysterious magnetic fields that permeate the cosmic web.
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Quantum PhysicsGoogle’s quantum computer reached an error-correcting milestone
A larger array of quantum bits outperformed a smaller one in tests performed by Google researchers, suggesting quantum computers could be scaled up.