Basic Research

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.

The moon may be hiding a lot of water under its crusty exterior

By Roni Dengler

For years, scientists thought our moon was a dry expanse. But, new evidence suggests the lunar mantle is wet on a global scale.

Elephant seals recognize vocal rhythms to avoid bullies

By Teresa Carey

Elephant seals become the first mammal, other than humans, to recognize rhythmic patterns in the voices of their kind.

When did wolves become dogs? New research throws a bone into the debate

By Nsikan Akpan

Dog domestication wasn't too rough. A new population genetics study from Stony Brook University argues wolves were tamed just once, 40,000 years ago.

Cunning ravens can plan ahead, study shows

By Teresa Carey

Researchers from Sweden have shown for the first time that an animal other than a human or an ape can plan for an event beyond the current moment.

Here are Juno's first closeup photos of the Great Red Spot

By Nsikan Akpan

Less than 48 hours ago, NASA's Juno spacecraft got its first up-close-and-personal view with Jupiter's Great Red Spot, and today, the space agency has released photos from the flyby.