Scientists Have Spent 40 Years Trying to Understand Salt
How our tongues distinguish well-seasoned from oversalted is surprisingly complicated.
Science
You’ve Never Seen a Star Like This
A new image from the Webb telescope shows an infant star not as a diamond hanging in the sky, but as a velvety, dark orb surrounded by jets of radiant dust.
The One Thing Everyone Should Know About Fall COVID Vaccines
The simplest way to think about them—everyone should just get one—is arguably the best.
Earthquakes Are a Special Kind of Nightmare
Morocco is facing the particular trauma that comes from watching the world around you crumble in an instant.
Oyster Insomnia Is Real
City lights are keeping the animals awake all night.
America Is Telling Itself a Lie About Roadkill
Your car may have just run over the last of an endangered species.
The Big COVID Question for Hospitals This Fall
With universal masking mandates almost entirely gone, hospitals now have to decide when—or if—to bring requirements back.
America Could Be in for a Rough Fall
The weather is about to get even weirder.
‘Biological Recycling’ Would Be Truly, Truly Amazing
Plastic is tough to break down and reuse. What if enzymes could do the job for us?
How Can You Save What’s Already Gone?
As Lahaina’s religious leaders look to rebuild, they draw from memories of a more distant past.