Health and Science News

For the first time, scientists measured the quantity of viruses that are swept into the Earth's atmosphere and then fall back down. The study explains why similar viruses are spread across the globe.

(Image credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

The European Space Agency has released a chart of the exact positions of many stars in the Milky Way and neighboring galaxies. But the map only shows a small fraction of what's out there.

(Image credit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC)

The EPA says it wants to only use research in which all data are publicly available. Scientists say this would hurt policy making on everything from air pollution to toxic waste and pesticides.

The EPA administrator wants to restrict the science used by the agency in its decision-making. Scientists are concerned it eliminates all good science in the process.

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The eugenicists were utopians, convinced that they were doing hard but necessary things. And that included making decisions about who gets to have children.

(Image credit: M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University at Albany, SUNY)

LeeAnne Walters demanded action from local officials, confronting them with bottles of discolored water. They dismissed her for months. She meticulously documented lead levels in Flint homes.

(Image credit: Michael Gleason/The Goldman Environmental Prize)

Using historical data and estimates from deep-sea trawls that drag nets along the ocean floor, researchers estimate that millions of tons of catch have gone unreported in the last 50 years.

(Image credit: Monty Rakusen/Getty Images/Cultura RF)

An FDA advisory committee last week urged approval of a drug containing cannabidiol to treat a form of epilepsy. Other scientists wonder if CBD might ease anxiety or other disorders, too.

(Image credit: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg Creative Photos/Getty Images)

Zoologist Lucy Cooke says humans aren't doing animals any favors when we moralize their behavior. Her book The Truth About Animals is organized around "fact and not sentimentality."

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In this latest form of self-harming behavior, adolescents anonymously post mean or derogatory comments about themselves on social media, as a way of managing feelings of sadness or self-loathing.

(Image credit: Jasmin Merdan/Getty Images)

A California tech firm believes that artificial intelligence can help communities prepare for, and respond to, quakes.

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Whether you think it's time or a waste of time, the city of Malibu decided to ban the use of plastic straws, utensils and stirrers as a means of reducing their harmful effects on the environment.

(Image credit: Reed Saxon/AP)

This month marks the Hubble Space Telescope's 28 years in space, and as a gift to us earthlings, NASA and the European Space Agency issued photos of colorful, explosive beauty.

(Image credit: NASA, ESA, STScI)

The U.S. Geological Survey simulated a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on the Hayward fault near Oakland, Calif., and found that such a quake could kill hundreds and cause more than $100 billion in damage.

(Image credit: Ben Margot/AP)

After nearly going bankrupt, chef Tim Ma cut costs by cooking creatively with every last bit of ingredients. Some dishes born of frugality have become favorites at his acclaimed D.C. restaurant.

(Image credit: Becky Harlan/NPR)

How do we accurately forecast the amount of water that will be available any given year? It's not easy. But some Colorado scientists think they're onto a possible solution — inspired by Pokemon.

(Image credit: Kira Puntenney-Desmond/Colorado State University)

Eight years after the deadly Deepwater Horizon explosion, a safety watchdog aims to prevent another disaster. But it faces multiple challenges, and a shift in focus under the Trump administration.

(Image credit: Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement)

This was a bizarre sight because this kind of dolphin has never before been spotted in this northern area. They like the warmer waters farther south. About 200 were swimming in the group.

(Image credit: Mike Hill/Getty Images)

As humans spread around the globe, other big mammals vanished. Researchers believe it's because they were tasty.

(Image credit: British Library/Science Source)

In The Overstory, Powers explores how humans can revere ancient trees with "the same kind of sanctity that we reserve exclusively for ourselves."

(Image credit: NPS)