Blogs - Page 5 of 64 - This Week in Science

Health

The Controversy Over Tylenol Use During Pregnancy: Separating Fact from Fiction

The recent debate surrounding the use of Tylenol during pregnancy and its alleged links to autism has captured widespread attention. President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have fueled the discussion with claims suggesting a connection between acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, and increased autism rates [New York Times]. However, the scientific community remains […]

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Astronomy

NASA’s Upcoming Artemis II Mission: A New Era in Lunar Exploration

In an exciting development for space exploration enthusiasts, NASA is set to launch its Artemis II mission in February 2026. This mission marks the first crewed mission in over 50 years to orbit the Moon, setting the stage for future lunar landings. Look, we have had nothing but bad news recently. Going back to the […]

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Psychology

When Cooperation Gets Complicated

Why do we help others when it costs us something? For decades, scientists answered this with a simple formula: altruism evolves when the benefit to others, weighted by relatedness, is greater than the cost to the helper. This neat rule, called Hamilton’s rule, became one of biology’s most famous equations. But new work shows the […]

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Biology

What Happens When Elephants Face Stress

Across Asia, elephants are losing ground. Since the 1700s, farming and cities have eaten away 64% of their habitat. But here’s the twist: elephants aren’t just changing where they walk or what they eat: they’re changing inside. New research shows their bodies respond in striking ways to human-altered landscapes. When the Forest Turns Into Fields […]

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News

Next Week in Science, September 19, 2025

I don’t know, just dialing this one in. I really like this recent article we wrote about drumming. It’s a fun thing to learn about different rhythms and grooves. Here’s what’s in the research. And here’s what’s in the news. Harms of introduced large herbivores outweigh benefits to native biodiversity The study uses the IUCN’s […]

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Biology

Unveiling the Secrets of Octopus Dexterity: What We Can Learn from These Curious Creatures

Octopuses are renowned for their intelligence and extraordinary manipulatory skills, possessing a unique ability to adapt to their environment with their eight flexible arms. Recent studies have shed light on how these fascinating creatures coordinate their complex arm movements, which may have profound implications for robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) development. The Intricate Coordination of […]

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Biology

How Food Fortification Could Improve Children’s Health

Every year, millions of children in India face preventable blindness, weak bones, and even early death—not because medicine doesn’t exist, but because key vitamins are missing from their diets. A new study suggests that a surprisingly simple change, fortifying everyday oil and milk, could save over a million healthy years of life. The Everyday Problem […]

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Environment

Cutting Emissions Could Save 14,000 Lives a Year

Carbon credits are back in the news, thanks to the role they play in this amazing reporting by Pablo Torre. The story itself is crazy, and the role carbon offsets play is only tangential. Yet, it got my thinking about the recent research on this topic. A third of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come […]

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Biology

Can Drum Machines Sound Human?

So I’m into drummers. I’ve got my favorites. One who kind of flies under the radar is Jeff Porcaro, the drummer for Toto, but an extremely accomplished session musician. As Wikipedia quotes, his drumming pretty much defined late-70s and 80s pop. In 1982, Michael McDonald released I Keep Forgettin’. The track is smooth, soulful, and […]

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