Science & Society

  1. Health & Medicine

    Here’s what puts teen drivers at greatest risk of a crash

    Most teen car crashes trace to distraction and a driver’s inexperience. New studies point to how easily we can be distracted and by which activities.

    By
  2. Health & Medicine

    Analyze This: A good reason to drive with an adult in the car

    Teens are much safer drivers during their “learner” stage, when there’s an adult in the car. Once they get a license and begin to drive solo, they exhibit more reckless behaviors.

    By
  3. Psychology

    Smartphones may serve as digital security blankets

    In a new study, students in awkward social situations experienced less stress if they had — but didn’t use — their smartphones.

    By
  4. Physics

    Dazzling laser advances bring physicists a Nobel Prize

    The winners of 2018 Nobel Prize in physics helped usher in new laser feats, such as making optical “tweezers” and creating amazingly bright beams of light.

    By
  5. Tech

    Scientists enlist computers to hunt down fake news

    Who can you trust? What can you believe? Scrolling through a news feed can make it hard to decide what’s real from what’s not. Computers, however, tend to do better.

    By
  6. Computing

    Computers can now make fool-the-eye fake videos

    Hackers can now use computers to move facial expressions (and more) from someone in one video to a person in another. The results look totally real, ushering in a whole new type of fakery.

    By
  7. Science & Society

    Climate change sets people on the move

    As their homelands experience uncomfortable changes to weather, many people have begun migrating to places with a better climate.

    By
  8. Health & Medicine

    Explainer: What is a clinical trial?

    Scientists perform these to compare the effects of a new drug or therapy in treated — and untreated — people. Always people.

    By
  9. Animals

    What ‘The Meg’ doesn’t quite get right about megalodon sharks

    A paleobiologist helps separate shark fact from fiction in the new Jason Statham film The Meg.

    By
  10. Archaeology

    Cremated remains hint at who was buried at Stonehenge

    A chemical analysis shows that people carried bodies from far away to be buried at the mysterious ancient monument known as Stonehenge.

    By
  11. Archaeology

    Putting hats on Easter Island statues may have required some rock and roll

    Fitting huge stone hats on 3-story-high Easter Island statues may have required only a small workforce armed with ropes and ramps.

    By
  12. Animals

    Uh oh! New approach to saving this species imperiled it

    After years separated from predators, these endangered quoll lost their fear of them. This jeopardizes the safety of any quoll released back to their home range.

    By