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Many experiments have shown how the GI tract and its resident bacteria coexist in an intimate relationship that keeps us healthy. One striking example of the crucial role of gut flora is a treatment called a fecal microbiota transplant, used to cure a virulent form of hospital-acquired diarrhea.

What will a significantly smaller American scientific enterprise look like? C. Brandon Ogbunu writes that shrinking research funding will have negative effects across many parts of the scientific world, including changing the way that scientists publish their work and the sorts of science that they conduct.

The science on PFAS incineration is relatively nascent, which leaves concerned citizens in limbo. Most research and regulation have focused on the compounds’ presence in water. But few studies have examined their prevalence — and potential health risks — in air.

By slashing teams that gather critical data, the Trump administration has left the federal government with no way of understanding if policies are working — and created a black hole of information whose consequences could ripple out for decades.

In recent years, crowd control has become more of a science than an art, as recreation researchers have nudged the field toward more evidence-based approaches. Using various methods, a growing body of research is analyzing how to minimize human impact on public lands while maximizing accessibility.

Over the past decade, spurred by personal testimonies, autism researchers have increasingly examined how women and girls have eluded diagnosis by adopting two broad strategies — camouflaging and masking — in an attempt to better fit in with neurotypical peers and family members.

Advocates argue that the proposed reforms — which come after decades of steady, bipartisan-supported growth in funding for biomedical research — will cut administrative costs and other perceived bloat. This, they argue, will ultimately direct a bigger share of science spending toward actual science. Many scientists aren’t buying those arguments.

For decades, climate disasters were seen as the burden of poor nations. But the wildfires in Los Angeles and other catastrophes in the Global North prove that no one is immune. Adaptation, which could mean entire populations relocating, cannot replace mitigation as the main response to climate change.

A proposed rule from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would change the definition of “harm” to an endangered species, effectively allowing such activities as logging and oil drilling to be approved even if they harm protected plant and animal habitats.

More than half of the calories consumed in the U.S. are from highly processed foods, which often contain synthetic ingredients. The new head of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has said the U.S. should rid its food supply of these additives. What impact would such bans have on public health?

There is a long history of linguistic breakthroughs by researchers who have raised great apes in language-rich environments. But the first words and signs of humans’ closest relatives have stirred up relatively little fuss in both the scientific literature and the media. Why aren’t they more celebrated?

Fieldwork is vital to scientific research. But difficult conditions at remote research sites can increase workers’ vulnerability and put them under physical, mental, and emotional strain. A shift in the culture is needed to improve field workers’ access to mental health resources and support systems.

Scientists have long debated the scale of intentionally set fires, particularly in the woodlands of eastern North America. And a dust-up over a 2020 journal article on prescribed burning illustrates the debate’s nuances.

Officials have asked staff at the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program to draft a rule that will drastically reduce data collection. Climate experts expressed shock and dismay at the move. “It would be a bit like unplugging the equipment that monitors the vital signs of a patient that is critically ill,” one said.

Lobotomies left thousands of patients disabled in the 1950s. But with advances in treatment, some surgeons now say that, for a small group of patients, removing brain tissue can help patients with OCD and other disorders. But other experts are hesitant to recommend the procedures without more data.

In “A History of the World in Six Plagues,” science historian Edna Bonhomme investigates the racial and class inequalities, and the injustices of confinement, that have hampered official responses to cholera, Ebola, AIDS, Covid-19, and other epidemics.

The impending bankruptcy of genetic testing company 23andMe prompted worries about consumers’ personal data being sold. It has also raised the argument that genetic data shouldn’t be treated as assets for generating profit but rather as biospecimens that require individual consent before being bought or sold.

Apps that help track health information, provide diagnostic assistance, and facilitate care may have benefits, but with a patchwork of regulations, there’s potential for harm. Experts say more oversight is needed.

Academic surveys suggest that as many as one in five preteens in the U.S. now take melatonin at least occasionally, and that some younger children consume it multiple times per week. Companies and influencers increasingly market the hormone online. The trend has unsettled many childhood sleep researchers.

In Washington state, The closely-spaced deaths of two cougars who tested positive for the H5N1 avian flu suggest the virus is likely more widespread than thought. “There’s just so much about this virus and the epidemiology and disease ecology of it that we don’t understand,” one wildlife veterinarian said.

Even among the most durable migratory bird pairings, sexual exclusivity is rarely part of their relationship. One of the most remarkable evolutionary strategies is brood parasitism, or the sneaking of eggs into other birds’ nests in an attempt to steal parental care.

More than five years ago, the Covid-19 virus reached U.S. shores. Talking about the pandemic has become overwhelming, writes columnist C. Brandon Ogbunu. But now is the time to extract meaningful lessons from the ordeal that can be applied to other infectious disease scenarios, and to science and society as a whole.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration supports everything from emergency preparedness to weather apps to climate science. Many meteorologists say that recent reductions in funding and staffing will make it difficult for the federal agency to carry out its mission.

The move — along with the CDC’s explanation — is a sign that the nation’s top public health agency may be falling in line under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of vaccines.