August 10, 2025 3 min read How the New Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in China Could Reach the U.S. Experts say the painful infection, spread to people from mosquitoes, can get to many countries if it finds the right hosts By Josh Fischman edited by Dean Visser Aedes aegypti mosquitoes can carry chikungunya virus and infect…
Nickel West in Australia is one of many mines that could use microwaves to store CO2 in waste rock BHP Mining generates billions of tonnes of waste rock each year. If those piles of unused rock can be made to react with carbon dioxide, they could help remove large amounts of the greenhouse gas from…
From Cape Town to Tehran to Lima to Phoenix, dozens of cities across the globe have experienced water shortages recently. And in the next five years the world’s demand for fresh water could significantly outpace supply, according to a United Nations forecast. Now several companies are turning to an unexpected source for a solution: the…
On 16 October 2029, I will – hopefully – become a member of the world’s fastest-growing demographic. By then, 1.4 billion people, a sixth of the world’s population, will be aged 60 or over. Assuming I make it, I can then expect to live for another 24 years. I am the beneficiary of a global…
August 11, 2025 2 min read How to Watch the Year’s Best Meteor Shower, the Perseids The Perseids are the best annual meteor shower, but this year’s show will be dimmed by a bright gibbous moon By Clara Moskowitz edited by Meghan Bartels SequoiaJohn61/Getty Images One of the best annual meteor showers, the Perseid meteor…
The psychedelic drug ibogaine is extracted from iboga roots FARMER DODDS / Alamy The psychedelic drug ibogaine slows down the brainwaves of people with traumatic brain injury, which may explain why it alleviates symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Last year, a study found that ibogaine – a psychedelic substance derived from the African iboga…
Shimmering like spun gold, sea silk fabric is so lustrous that some believe it inspired the Greek legends of Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece. For centuries, artisans in the Mediterranean have passed down the art of spinning the silk, which comes from the beardlike tufts of the giant clam Pinna nobilis. But the clam’s…
August 11, 2025 4 min read Pessimistic Dogs Are Better at Smelling Cancer—And Other Keys to Disease-Sniffing Success New research is revealing how disease-smelling dogs can excel By Rohini Subrahmanyam edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Individual dogs’ personalities, and how we interpret their behaviors, may be key to disease sniffing at scale. Johner Images/Getty Images…
Some dinosaurs were fussy eaters. Certain herbivorous dinosaurs preferred specific parts of plants, challenging long-standing assumptions about their diets, a study of fossilized dino teeth shows. The analysis of calcium isotopes in 150-million-year-old tooth enamel reveals that diet may have depended less on the size of dinosaurs and more about the nutritional value and texture…
Imagine knowing that the stock market will likely crash in three years, that extreme weather will destroy your home in eight or that you will have a debilitating disease in 15—but that you can take steps now to protect yourself from these crises. Although predicting the future with certainty will always be impossible, artificial intelligence…
