Stories by Rachel Nuwer

Canceled grants and slashed budgets are disproportionately affecting junior health researchers, dealing a major blow to the future of science and society in the U.S.

Researchers followed gorillas for years to uncover truffle-hunting behavior—and it may be socially transmitted

When insomnia took hold of this journalist, she relied on her science reporting to find a medication that (mostly) worked

Drugs that target wakefulness, molecules in cannabis and wearable devices that modulate brain activity could help people with insomnia

Pugs, Persian cats, and other smushed-face cats and dogs are more similar to one another than they are to the wild animals they evolved from

A natural experiment in Wales showed that a shingles vaccine might lower the risk of developing dementia

Researchers put forward a comprehensive model outlining the conditions that may give rise to the vivid mental phenomena that some people experience as they near death

A bioengineer highlights the potential of low-intensity ultrasound for multiple uses, from enhanced drug delivery to the brain to combating cancer

From job interviews to dating, we subconsciously judge one another based on sound quality when we interact digitally

Findings reveal the memory-related brain processes that generate unwanted thoughts when people are sleep deprived

The brain is sometimes called the most complex machine in the known universe. But the thoughts that it outputs putter along at a trifling 10 bits per second, the pace of a conversation

Female chimps who migrate to new social groups bring skills and technology with them, helping to drive development of increasingly complex tool sets

Researchers directed electric current to activate targeted facial muscles and then asked study participants how they felt

Famous people who die at age 27, such as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Amy Winehouse, get even more famous because of the mythology surrounding that number—an example of how modern folklore emerges

New research dispels the notion that human beings can continue to radically extend their lifespan

Replacing research animals with tools that better mimic human biology could improve medicine

Many experts criticize the FDA’s recent negative ruling on MDMA therapy for PTSD, saying the agency ignored solid overall results from clinical trials

Warm-blooded island species tend to evolve a slower metabolic rate compared with their mainland counterparts, making it harder for them to bounce back when under stress

Ultrathin gold was achieved with the help of a century-old sword-making technique

Greater awareness is needed around auto-brewery syndrome, which can cause dangerous accidents and trigger social ostracism if it is not correctly diagnosed

Counting crows proclaim “caw, caw, caw, caw” when staring at the number four

What the neuroscience of near-death experiences tells us about human consciousness

By cutting trees in response to international demand for tobacco, farmers induced wildlife to start eating virus-laden bat guano

Researchers used tinned fish to reconstruct parasitic population change, giving new meaning to the phrase “opening a can of worms”