How do you study mind-altering drugs when every clinical-trial participant knows they’re tripping?

Technology really is changing people, but beware of stories that seem too weird to be real

The annual competition highlights the wonders to be found when scientists and photographers zoom in on the world around us.

Unidos Contra COVID’s Spanish-speaking volunteers go to where Philadelphia’s Hispanic people gather, giving shots and addressing concerns one-on-one.

Electric eels were thought be to solitary hunters, until researchers observed over 100 eels hunting together, releasing coordinated electric attacks on corralled prey.

A newly discovered mechanism may enable viruses to shuttle genes between bacteria 1,000 times as often as was thought — making them a major force in those cells’ evolution.

Identical twins may share a set of unique chemical tags on their DNA that could be used to identify individuals who were conceived as identical twins.

Nonimmune cells can fight off pathogens by releasing a detergent-like molecule that dissolves bacterial membranes.

New research validates a century-old experiment that shows single-celled organisms are capable of complex “decision making.”

A global survey of bird egg color reveals a simple trend: the colder the climate, the darker the egg.

Vampire bats can form social bonds that persist from a lab setting to the outdoors, suggesting the cooperative relationships are like friendships.

With climate change altering our world at an increasing pace, scientists who monitor and study nature are frustrated and grieving.

As states reopen, most don’t have adequate systems in place to test, trace and isolate new COVID-19 cases, setting the stage for future outbreaks.

Investing in halting deforestation and limiting the wildlife trade could be a cost-effective way to reduce the risk of pandemics, a new analysis finds.

Machine learning reveals that these social rodents communicate with distinctive speech patterns that are culturally inherited.

An analysis lays out where new land protections could complement existing protected areas to achieve various conservation and climate goals.

After being eaten by a frog, some water beetles can scurry through the digestive tract and emerge on the other side, alive and well.

For the first time, a pig organ was successfully attached to a human patient. It’s a step toward vastly increasing the supply of organs.

Whenever I tell people about my concussion, they expect some harrowing misadventure. Like I was heli-skiing in the Alps, or flipped over the...

After confirmation that a new coronavirus is transmissible between humans, U.S. health officials report a first case in Seattle.

How does evolution select the fittest “individuals” when they are ecosystems made up of hosts and their microbiomes? Biologist debate the need to revise theories.

Video captures the first documented instance of a tortoise hunting another animal.

By coating themselves in fresh horse manure, wild giant pandas may be seeking a chemical in the poop that inhibits a cold-sensing protein.

Despite news coverage to the contrary, the study was meant to figure out how to evaluate masks, not actually do the comparison.

Jellyfish didn’t need novel genes to take an evolutionary leap in complexity.

Wildlife biologist Danielle Belleny hopes the social media campaign represents black birders and nature enthusiasts of color in a hobby often stereotyped as white.

Some scientists say Earth has entered a new geological epoch — the Anthropocene era — defined by human impact on the global landscape. Three artists traveled to 22 countries to see what we've wrought.

Benefits of reintroducing sea otters in the Pacific Northwest, such as boosting tourism, vastly outweigh the costs, a new analysis shows.

Healthy canaries ramp up their immune systems when exposed to visibly sick birds, without actually being infected themselves.

Rather than stemming from a virus that jumped from an animal to a person, this outbreak might have originated from someone who had a dormant virus.

Nations are drafting a plan to protect 30 percent of Earth by 2030 to save biodiversity. The number reflects politics more than scientific consensus.

A newfound coronavirus is behind a mysterious outbreak of pneumonia in central China. Experts urge vigilance but say there’s no cause for panic.

GALICIA, Spain — The forest fire stopped just before arriving at Nieves Fernández Vidueira’s farm, but it burned all day in the area surrounding Quintela do Pando in Galicia, northwestern Spain. “I...

Scientists have mapped the location of key natural carbon stores. Keeping these areas intact is crucial to fighting climate change.

The COVID-19 vaccine’s pause is out of abundance of caution, experts say. The potentially deadly clots appear to be “extremely rare.”

Everything from waving hello instead of shaking hands to cancelling large gatherings of people will help slow the spread of COVID-19.

To accelerate vaccine development, some experts argue we should purposefully infect volunteers with the coronavirus. Others warn of the risks.

The coronavirus behind COVID-19 has not yet reached pandemic status, according the WHO, but we could be close.

A study looking at how 101 dog breeds behave finds a strong association between genetics and 14 personality traits.

An agricultural pest may owe part of its success to a plant detox gene it acquired long ago that lets the insect neutralize common defenses.

A newfound single-celled microbe species forms groups of multiple individual organisms that change shape in response to light.

Scientists have discovered the first true millipede, an elongated, threadlike creature with a whopping 1,306 legs.

The coronavirus’s delta variant is different from earlier strains of the virus in worrying ways, health officials are discovering.