What It Feels Like to Die

Science is just beginning to understand the experience of life’s end.

• Jennie Dear
• Sep 9, 2016

The Instant Gratification of Being a Surgeon

Sareh Parangi, a doctor at one of the Harvard hospitals, talks about why people hold her work in the operating room in such high regard.

• Adrienne Green
• Sep 8, 2016

How Switzerland Accidentally Reduced Suicides

In a country with a high rate of gun ownership, shrinking the military saved lives.

• Eric Markowitz
• Sep 8, 2016

Stunning Videos of Evolution in Action

The MEGA-plate allows scientists to watch bacteria adapting to antibiotics before their eyes.

• Ed Yong
• Sep 8, 2016

A New Place to Calm Mental Distress

“Crisis living rooms" offer breathing exercises and talk therapy to mental-health patients in an effort to curb emergency-room visits.

• Leah Todd
• Sep 7, 2016

Sex Ed Without the Sex

In West Texas, a Christian pregnancy center has grown increasingly involved in reproductive life—including teaching sex ed in public schools.

• Olga Khazan
• Sep 7, 2016

When 'The Miracle of Life' Doesn't Happen

In The Art of Waiting, Belle Boggs explores the meaning of infertility in a culture that venerates parenthood above all else.

• Julie Beck
• Sep 7, 2016

The New Science of Disease Recovery

Understanding the different ways people bounce back from infections may help determine the treatments they need.

• Emily Singer
• Sep 6, 2016

The End of Antibacterial Soap

The FDA is banning certain chemicals it says may have harmful side effects.

• Laura Wagner
• Sep 2, 2016

How Does Zika Affect the Toddler Brain?

Scientists know the virus can be devastating to a developing fetus, but there are lingering questions about the risks of infection among newborns and young children.

• Adrienne LaFrance
• Sep 2, 2016

Every Day, 7,000 Americans Try Weed for the First Time

People increasingly see the drug as safe and easy to obtain.

• Olga Khazan
• Sep 1, 2016

The Pill, the Condom, and the American Dream

Poor kids are finally narrowing the achievement gap with rich kids. Is contraception the cause?

• Derek Thompson
• Aug 31, 2016

The Bizarre Words of Donald Trump’s Doctor

What do we actually know about the candidate’s health?

• James Hamblin
• Aug 31, 2016

Sketchy Pharmacies Are Selling Hormones to Transgender People

Burdened by cost and medical discrimination, many people are taking a do-it-yourself approach to transitioning.

• Gillian Branstetter
• Aug 31, 2016

The U.S. Is Now Eating and Wasting Twice as Much Food as It Did in 1975

4,000 calories per person per day is not sustainable.

• James Hamblin
• Aug 30, 2016

Mosquitoes Can Pass Zika to Their Offspring

Thanks to this “vertical transmission” the virus may be able to survive the winter in Aedes aegypti’s eggs.

• Julie Beck
• Aug 30, 2016

Captivity Makes Monkey Microbiomes More Human-Like

Our microbiomes winnowed when we swapped hunting and gathering for cities—and a few months in a zoo will do the same to a monkey.

• Ed Yong
• Aug 29, 2016

Don't Try to Win the Argument

What to do if you’re a Hillary fan seated next to a Trump supporter at a wedding

• Olga Khazan
• Aug 29, 2016

174 Heroin Overdoses in Six Days in Cincinnati

Officials say they face a public-health emergency, and believe a batch of the opioid may be tainted with an elephant tranquilizer.

• Matt Vasilogambros
• Aug 26, 2016

Screening for Zika in Donated Blood

The Food and Drug Administration now recommends that all blood banks test for the mosquito-borne virus.

• Matt Vasilogambros
• Aug 26, 2016