Life

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

Briefing: Our Sun may have escaped the Milky Way’s center with thousands of twin stars

Strategic angle: Scientists have uncovered evidence that our Sun may have traveled across the Milky Way as part of a massive migration of Sun-like stars billions of years ago.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: Improperly disposed wet wipes could shed microplastics in rivers

Strategic angle: Wet wipes, often flushed down toilets, may contribute to microplastic pollution in waterways.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: Dragonfly mission begins rotorcraft integration, testing stage

Strategic angle: Dragonfly integration and testing activities are officially underway, preparing the rotorcraft lander for launch and extreme space conditions.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: New DNA tools outperform traditional methods for detecting genetic risk in wildlife

Strategic angle: Innovative genetic techniques offer better solutions for managing wildlife populations at risk of extinction.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: Volunteers Find Oddly High Solar Flare Rates

Strategic angle: A new study reveals unexpected patterns in solar flare activity, highlighting the role of strong magnetic fields on the Sun's surface.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: Researchers realize room-temperature two-dimensional multiferroic metal

Strategic angle: A breakthrough in multiferroic materials could lead to advancements in electronics and spintronics.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: Extra Extra! Extra Data Stream Added to the Daily Minor Planet!

Strategic angle: The Daily Minor Planet citizen science project is expanding with new data from the Bok 2.3-meter telescope.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: From guesswork to guidance: How machine learning speeds dopant design for water-splitting photocatalysts

Strategic angle: Researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo utilize MLIP calculations to identify suitable dopants for innovative photocatalytic materials.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: EPA Chief Meets Bayer CEO Over Supreme Court Fight

Strategic angle: Top US regulators discuss litigation issues regarding glyphosate weed killer.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: Astroscale selects Isar Aerospace to launch ELSA-M mission

Strategic angle: Japanese satellite servicing company Astroscale has chosen Isar Aerospace for its deorbiting mission.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: A 100-solar-mass black hole merger ripples spacetime, and may flash in gamma rays

Strategic angle: An international team from China and Italy has reported a possible cosmic encore to the landmark 2017 multi-messenger discovery.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: The customer might always be right, but apologies actually backfire in customer service

Strategic angle: A new study reveals that saying 'I'm sorry' may not be the best approach in customer service.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: How flexible protein regions retain their function via motifs and chemical context

Strategic angle: A new LMU study shows how proteins function reliably even without a stable 3D structure—and the crucial importance not only of short sequence motifs, but also of chemical characteristics.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: Trump EPA moves to repeal regulation of cancer-linked chemical ethylene oxide

Strategic angle: The repeal loosens standards for roughly 90 sterilization facilities that emit the toxic chemical in neighborhoods across the country.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: China is developing low-cost lunar cargo options for its expanding moon program

Strategic angle: A state-owned space contractor has unveiled a concept for an economical lunar cargo transport system as China prepares for construction of a lunar base.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: Can plants count? Study suggests they can track the number of events they experience

Strategic angle: A recent study challenges the assumption that only organisms with brains can learn and remember, indicating that plants may have the ability to count.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: How STAT would cover ‘The Fugitive’ if its pharma scandal were real

Strategic angle: It's Oscar season, so we're bringing you a special STATus report on how we'd cover the drug scandal in 'The Fugitive' if it were real.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: Geospatial model maps potential lumpy skin disease entry points into Australia

Strategic angle: Two locations have been identified as the most likely entry points into Australia for a disease that poses a huge risk to the beef and dairy industries.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: Bacterial strain breaks decades-old bottleneck in chemotherapy drug manufacturing

Strategic angle: An international team of researchers has achieved a breakthrough in the production of doxorubicin, a vital chemotherapy agent.

editorial-staff Mar 13

Life

Briefing: Comprehensive digital materials ecosystem can perform 'sanity check' to guide design

Strategic angle: Researchers leverage AI tools to streamline material testing in design processes.

editorial-staff Mar 13