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A vintage pink car passes by a graffiti of Cuban Artist Yulier Rodriguez in Havana, Cuba, August 4, 2017.

Looking for economic prosperity without growth

The only way for humanity to solve its environmental problems may be to abandon our quest for continual economic expansion. It’s time to study what a future of degrowth might look like, some researchers say.

Colorized image of a single Salmonella bacterium. It is shaped like a stubby rod and has multiple slim, whip-like fibers coming from it. The rod is colored red and the whips — flagella — are colored yellow. The background is dark.

Food & Environment

Salmonella: Why it’s a chicken and egg thing

Eliminating this food-poisoning bacterium from poultry is tricky — not least because rapid, precise tests are still unavailable. Researchers are looking at vaccines, probiotics, prebiotics and even essential oils as ways to reduce contamination on the farm.

The Mind

Do yourself a favor

Thinking of others enhances your well-being, while selfishness just adds to stress, studies show

Photograph at night, with mountainous terrain and desert floor. In the sky one can see thousands of stars and the disk of the Milky Way galaxy.

Physical World

A galactic archaeologist digs into the Milky Way’s history

Astrophysicists now have the data and models to uncover subtle imprints from our galaxy’s past

Health & Disease

Organs grown to order

Genetic advances may make it possible to grow transplantable tissues in other species. That could solve immunity and availability issues, but raises ethical concerns.

Society

Taxes, taxes — past, present and future

Here’s how the inevitable came to be, and where it may be headed

Photograph of an elderly woman lying in bed. Standing and sitting around her are family members, two of them holding her hands. A hospice aide and a bottle of lotion are seen at the foot of the bed.

Health & Disease

Going gentle

A sociologist explains how to get the most out of the final months of life

A painting showing Adam and Eve in an earthly paradise setting, with a river, mountains and a waterfall in the background, and trees in the foreground. Animals of all stripes fill the scene: lions, horses, chickens, turkeys, pelicans, parrots, deer, camels, dogs, cats, tigers and more. Adam and Eve, naked, are under a tree. Eve is offering an apple to Adam as a snake in the tree looks on.

Society

On whose green Earth?

Are we supposed to take care of the planet or should it take care of us? Willis Jenkins explains how religion shapes the conflicting views over climate change and other environmental issues.

A photograph shows a fragment of a porcelain plate that was excavated at the former Tempelhof airfield in Berlin, site of the old airport and forced labor camps during the Nazi era. The phrase “Schönheit der Arbeit,” inscribed on the plate, means “beauty of work,” and is the name of a Nazi propaganda organization for workplace efficiency. A swastika design is also on the plate.

Society

Grim relics

Archaeology of the Nazi era is about digging for truth through science. Reinhard Bernbeck discusses the origins and ethics of this approach.

Photograph of two elderly men sitting outdoors. They are enjoying a good joke or tale. The man on the left has his arms around the shoulders of his friend. He ls laughing. The man on the right has his arms out in front, slightly raised, as if he is relating a story. He is grinning.

The Mind

Emotions get better with age

As people grow older, they gain greater control of their feelings. How do they do that — and can they teach young whippersnappers a thing or two?

Society

To learn Klingon or Esperanto: What invented languages can teach us

NuqneH! Saluton! A linguistic anthropologist (and creator of the Kryptonian language, among others) studies the people who invent new tongues.

Photo of a white-faced capuchin raising its arm and sticking out its tongue.

Living World

Meet the capuchin monkey: Curious, creative and vengeful

UCLA’s Susan Perry has devoted decades to studying the fast-motion life of these New World primates and learning how the young acquire the skills they need to thrive

Photo shows a mother helping her son during a family meal. Food culture and culinary traditions are rich fodder for anthropologists who study language.

Society

What we talk about when we talk about food

From identity to national politics, gastronomical conversations can reflect who we are, and who we are not

Photograph of a statue of Lady Justice, shown blindfolded and holding a balance scale.

Society

If it pleases the Prosecution

The immense powers of prosecutors throughout the US mean that the scales are tipped against defendants — and justice itself, says a legal expert

Fatu, born in 2000, is one of the world’s last two surviving northern white rhinos. A 2013 photograph shows her hanging out with southern white rhinos at Kenya’s Pejeta Nature Conservancy.

Living World

At San Diego’s Frozen Zoo, a chance for animal immortality

The cryobank is a rich source of genetic knowledge of hundreds of creatures. It may one day be used to bring endangered species back from the brink and deepen the gene pool of wild populations.

Photograph of a hillside ablaze, with silhouettes of shrubs and bright orange and red fire and smoke behind them.

Living World

Controlled burns won’t save all of California from wildfire

There are two types of wildfire in the state, and they’re on the rise for different reasons. Each needs a distinct management approach, a researcher says.

Food & Environment

Will the food of the future be genetically engineered or organic? How about both?

Feeding the planet — now and tomorrow — is no small task. Plant biologist Pamela Ronald says sustainability means using every tool in the toolbox.

Conceptual illustration shows skyscrapers overlaid in red.

Society

What can cities do to survive extreme heat?

Urban heat waves are getting worse, but better data and timely government action could make them less deadly

Photo of Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci at White House coronavirus task force daily briefing.

Health & Disease

Speaking of pandemics: The art and science of risk communication

Public health messages should be loud and clear, so that everyone listens and stays safe. But that’s easier said than done — especially with a case as complex as Covid-19.

A photo collage of black-and-white pictures of different families interspersed with population charts, census data books and maps.

Society

The story of families, wrested from big data

Records tell the story of the decline of the patriarchy, the rise and fall of marrying young, and pandemic fallout; digitizing the data could reveal even richer tales

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