Life

Health, science, climate, and society-focused reporting.

Briefing: A Most Unusual Lake

Strategic angle: Lake Unter-See in Antarctica, sealed beneath thick ice, contains unusually high levels of dissolved oxygen and cone-shaped microbial reefs resembling some of Earth’s oldest fossils.

Editorial Staff Mar 11

Life

Briefing: Anduril to acquire space-tracking firm ExoAnalytic Solutions

Strategic angle: Deal adds ground-based telescope network and space surveillance data to defense tech company’s expanding space business.

Editorial Staff Mar 11

Life

Briefing: About Subsonic Vehicle Technologies and Tools Project

Strategic angle: NASA’s Subsonic Vehicle Technologies and Tools (SVTT) project develops technologies for various aircraft speed regimes.

Editorial Staff Mar 11

Life

Briefing: Vegans develop complex skills to navigate an omnivorous society, new research shows

Strategic angle: Going vegan is a life-changing decision that requires navigating a society dominated by omnivorous choices.

Editorial Staff Mar 11

Life

Briefing: Study reveals how Ethiopia's hyenas combat climate change, save money for waste management and prevent disease

Strategic angle: Research shows spotted hyenas play a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions and managing waste in urban areas.

Editorial Staff Mar 11

Life

Briefing: Convergence in the canopy: Why the Gracixalus weii treefrog sounds like a songbird

Strategic angle: Exploring the unique vocalizations of the Gracixalus weii treefrog and its evolutionary significance.

Editorial Staff Mar 11

Life

Briefing: Scientists turn scrap car aluminum into high-performance metal for new vehicles

Strategic angle: Researchers develop RidgeAlloy, a new aluminum alloy that transforms contaminated car-body scrap into durable vehicle components.

Editorial Staff Mar 11

Life

Briefing: How jagged moon dust could support future astronauts

Strategic angle: Lunar dust can be a pain—but it's also literally the ground we will have to traverse if we are ever to have a permanent human settlement on the moon.

Editorial Staff Mar 11

Life

Briefing: Could ultrasound help save hedgehogs?

Strategic angle: Researchers at the University of Oxford propose using ultrasound-repellers to reduce hedgehog deaths from vehicles.

Editorial Staff Mar 11

Life

Briefing: Ultrafast computing: Light-driven logic tops 10 terahertz in WS₂

Strategic angle: The future for our computers will literally be at the speed of light, as new research reveals ultrafast logical operations using extremely short light pulses.

Editorial Staff Mar 10

Life

Briefing: Foraged mushrooms and sea beet featured in British meals in the 16th century. Why not today?

Strategic angle: Exploring the historical significance of foraged foods in Britain and the modern hesitations surrounding them.

Editorial Staff Mar 10

Life

Briefing: Hybrid synthetic strategy unlocks previously unattainable molecular architectures

Strategic angle: A breakthrough in molecular-scale design could revolutionize advanced technologies.

Editorial Staff Mar 10

Life

Briefing: Starlab Space Fully Books Commercial Payload Space on Planned Space Station

Strategic angle: The Starlab commercial space station has secured all available payload space as it prepares for the next phase of a NASA program.

Editorial Staff Mar 10

Life

Briefing: New African species confirms evolutionary origin of magic mushrooms

Strategic angle: A long-standing debate about the evolutionary origin of the world's most widely cultivated 'magic mushroom'—Psilocybe cubensis—may now have been settled by scientists from southern Africa and the United States.

Editorial Staff Mar 10

Life

Briefing: Thermal drones boost detection of entangled seals

Strategic angle: New research from Monash University and Phillip Island Nature Parks utilizes thermal and infrared drone technology to enhance the detection of marine debris entanglements in Australian fur seals.

Editorial Staff Mar 10

Life

Briefing: Scientists document Europe's first Jurassic lizard trackways in Asturias

Strategic angle: Research reveals two significant trackways from the Late Jurassic period, shedding light on ancient lizard behavior.

Editorial Staff Mar 10

Life

Briefing: Language difficulties can hinder young children's social autonomy

Strategic angle: Children with developmental language disorder face challenges beyond just language use, impacting their social interactions.

Editorial Staff Mar 10

Life

Briefing: Viasat wins $14 million contract to provide in-flight satcom for Navy executive aircraft

Strategic angle: The two-year deal covers satellite communications for Navy C-37 executive jets used to transport senior leaders.

Editorial Staff Mar 10

Life

Briefing: Chemical shifts help track molecules breaking apart in real time

Strategic angle: An international team of scientists has tracked ultrafast changes in the small molecule fluoromethane as it breaks apart.

Editorial Staff Mar 10

Life

Briefing: Tapping into the inner workings of long-distance animal calls

Strategic angle: From whale songs to lion roars, animals have evolved to stretch their voices across distances with coded messages.

Editorial Staff Mar 10