Science

If this space study is right, humans have never left Earth’s atmosphere

By Vicky Stein

A new study redefines the boundaries of our planet.

Why robocalls are unstoppable

By Raymond Huahong Tu, The Conversation

It doesn’t matter if you’ve signed up with the federal Do Not Call Registry, though companies that call numbers on the list are supposed to be subject to large fines.

Will the West’s ‘Great River’ run dry?

By Jim Robbins, Yale Environment 360

As the Southwest faces rapid growth and unrelenting drought, the Colorado River is in crisis. Now those who depend on the river must confront the hard reality that their supply of Colorado water may be cut off.

In search of life’s origins, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft lands on an asteroid

By Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American

The mission to Asteroid Ryugu could return samples of the space rock to Earth in 2020.

New York moves to regulate a ‘likely human carcinogen’ in drinking water

By Hari Sreenivasan, Sam Weber, Connie Kargbo

New York state is proposing the country’s first firm limit on a chemical found in drinking water in heavy concentrations in some Long Island, New York communities. 1,4-dioxane has been labeled a “likely human carcinogen” by the EPA, but is…

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How smallpox devastated the Aztecs – and helped Spain conquer an American civilization 500 years ago

By Richard Gunderman, The Conversation

Epidemics are nothing new, and some widespread infectious diseases have profoundly changed the course of human history.

Can too much salt lead to bad skin?

By Nsikan Akpan

A new German study suggests eczema, one of the most common skin diseases, may be so prevalent because of too much table salt in our diets.

Is this the footprint of one of the last Neandertals?

By Kate Wong, Scientific American

The fossilized print, found in Gibraltar, is said to date to 28,000 years ago, which might mean it belonged to a Neandertal. But not everyone agrees with that interpretation.