Basic Research

This New York river dumps millions of fabric microfibers into the ocean daily

By Teresa Carey

The Hudson River dumps 300 million microfibers into the Atlantic Ocean each day, according to a new study. Invisible to the naked eye, these fibers can cause health problems for animals and humans.

Gut microbes found in hunter-gatherers shift with the seasons

By Teresa Carey

The gut microbes of the Hadza, Tanzanian hunter-gatherers, shift with the seasons, according to a new study. Applied on a longer timescale, these patterns might explain why industrialized populations have less diversity in their gut microbiomes and more chronic disease…

5 things you should remember as you prepare for the great solar eclipse

By Nsikan Akpan, Julia Griffin

If you plan to join the 5,000-year-old tradition of eclipse watching next Monday, here are five things you need to remember.

Giant plankton eat and transport plastic through the ocean

By Roni Dengler

Giant larvaceans -- bizarre and beautiful zooplankton -- can transport ocean plastic and may introduce it into the food chain.

When faced with pollution, these sea snakes shed their stripes

By Teresa Carey

Australian ecologists found turtle-headed sea snakes cope with excessively polluted waters by losing their white stripes.

How industrial farming techniques can breed superbugs

By Miles O'Brien

As high-density, industrial-scale livestock farms have become fertile breeding grounds for disease, they’ve also become a major source of drug-resistant superbugs. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien and economics correspondent Paul Solman team up to report on how scientists are studying how…

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How a flood of antibiotics landed in your chicken

By Nsikan Akpan

In the book "Big Chicken," Maryn McKenna chronicles how humanity went from developing antibiotics to keep healthy to standing on the verge of an onslaught of unstoppable diseases.

This ancient asteroid family reveals clues about the birth of the solar system

By Roni Dengler

An international team has tipped the debate on the origins of the solar system with the discovery of one of the oldest known asteroid families.

U.S. scientists are fixing genetic defects in human embryos. Should you be nervous?

By Nsikan Akpan

For the first time, U.S. scientists have genetically edited human embryos with CRISPR, thanks in part to regulatory loopholes.

Study confirms how lead got into Flint’s water

By Roni Dengler

The absence of a water treatment -- called orthophosphate -- was a major contributor to lead contamination in Flint, University of Michigan chemists confirmed.