Why omicron may cause less harm — and what it means for the future of the pandemic There's growing evidence that omicron causes less severe disease than previous variants. Does that mean SARS-CoV-2 is evolving into a more mild virus? Will future surges be less deadly and disruptive? Michaeleen Doucleff
Who gets to use NASA's James Webb Space Telescope? Astronomers work to fight bias With the James Webb Space Telescope safely deployed, many scientists want to use it. To minimize the effect of unconscious biases, they go through a process developed for the Hubble Space Telescope. Nell Greenfieldboyce
Rising sea levels threaten affordable housing Lots of low-income and public housing is threatened by rising seas. Losing those units will make the affordable housing crisis even worse, and put more people at risk of homelessness. Sam Turken
What crying baby mice could teach us about human speech Scientists have found a cluster of rhythmic brain cells in newborn mice that may explain why spoken languages around the world share a common tempo. Jon Hamilton
Ryan Phelan: How gene technology can save species on the brink of extinction What if we could rescue endangered species before they disappear? Biotech entrepreneur Ryan Phelan explores how genetic engineering tools can save species that would otherwise go extinct. Manoush Zomorodi
Nabiha Saklayen: Could lasers make stem cell therapy available to everyone? Stem cells have long been heralded as a potential tool to treat illnesses. Nabiha Saklayen explains how it's still early, but scientists are getting closer to turning this vision into a reality. Manoush Zomorodi
Jennifer Doudna: What does CRISPR mean for the future of human evolution? In 2011, biochemist Jennifer Doudna helped discover the genetic editing tool CRISPR. Today CRISPR is actively deployed in clinical trials with the potential to cure disease—and alter human evolution. Rachel Faulkner
Making weather forecasts is hard. Getting people to understand them is even harder After nearly a decade, the director of the National Weather Service has stepped down. Getting the public to understand weather is just as important as the science that delivers the forecasts, he says. Jeffrey Pierre
GMO is out, "bioengineered" is in, as new U.S. food labeling rules take effect A new national standard is meant to give consumers clarity about how their food was produced, but critics say the rules will introduce more confusion and don't go far enough. Joe Hernandez
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope finishes deploying its sunshield amid cheers NASA's James Webb Space Telescope successfully finishing tensioning its massive sunshield on Tuesday, marking a critical step in the powerful observatory's zero-gravity deployment. Amina Khan