The Pandemic Broke the Flu
This winter has been an extraordinarily quiet flu season. Scientists aren’t sure the silence will last.
Science
Fewer Americans Are Getting COVID-19 Tests
Our best coronavirus tracking tool is still underused.
America’s New Vision of Astronauts
Once, American astronauts were white men with buzz cuts. Now they’re billionaires and a few lucky normal people.
The Terrifying Warning Lurking in the Earth’s Ancient Rock Record
Our climate models could be missing something big.
The Weekly Planet: A New Idea for Fighting Climate Change: Retirement Plans!
If you’re retiring in the 2060s, you should make sure you can enjoy the 2060s.
The Second COVID-19 Shot Is a Rude Reawakening for Immune Cells
Side effects are just a sign that protection is kicking in as it should.
The Brazil Variant Is Exposing the World’s Vulnerability
Somehow the coronavirus is rampaging through a city that was supposedly immune.
Inevitable Planetary Doom Has Been Exaggerated
Hope for the future is a reasonable and necessary prerequisite for action.
The Same Deadly Vitamin Deficiency Is Ravaging All Kinds of Animals
Thiamine, a nutrient no organism can live without, is mysteriously lacking in some marine ecosystems.
Where Are All the Tiny Black Holes?
The discovery of a celestial “unicorn” that’s just a slim 2.9 solar masses may help unravel a mystery that has long puzzled astronomers.