The Long Quest to Uncover a Sea Star Killing Bacteria
Scientists say they’ve found the cause of a marine epidemic more than ten years after it started. What took so long?
Better Farming Through Endophytes
Scientists look to “probiotics” for crops as a new green revolution in agriculture.
La Brea and Beyond
Pits and seeps full of tar and asphalt offer new insights into old ecosystems and cultures.
The Legacy of Asilomar
The 1975 scientific conference laid the ground rules governing the next half century (and counting) of biological research and public scrutiny of it.
A History of Fire
It’s only as we brought fire under better control that we stopped thinking so much about it—and, with climate change, that may be shifting again.
The War on Bugs
In the 1950s, supersized insects were the villains in a rash of big-screen horror movies. What did those monstrous roaches represent, and how were they vanquished?
NASA’s Search for Life on Mars
It’s a rocky road for its rovers, a long slog for scientists—and back on Earth, a battle of the budget.
Humans As Drivers of Evolution
“Anthropogenic,” meaning of human causes, is generally used to refer to climate change. But it also covers the powerful evolutionary force that is humanity.
AI and the Creative Process: Part One
How does generative artificial intelligence upend conventional understandings of who is and what makes for a true artist?