New book explores advances in immune system science ‘We are having exponential growth in our understanding of the immune system. There’s just so much to learn, and our baseline has just been established.’ John O'Brien
Accusations of 'greenwashing' by big oil companies are well-founded, a new study finds Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and Shell used terms like "climate" and "low-carbon" more frequently in recent annual reports, but their actions on clean energy didn't match their words, researchers conclude. Joe Hernandez
Confused about how worried to be about the pandemic? You're not alone It's another discombobulating moment in the pandemic, with lots of conflicting signs of where the virus is heading and what people should do about it on a day to day basis. Rob Stein
Artificial intelligence beats top human players in popular racing game Scientists pitted an artificial intelligence driver against real human gamers in the PlayStation driving game Gran Turismo. The AI driver beat them all. Christopher Intagliata
Scientist Luc Montagnier, who discovered the virus that causes AIDS, is dead at 89 Luc Montagnier, the scientist who discovered the virus that causes AIDS, has died at 89. His key contribution came at a time when AIDS was mysterious and uniformly deadly. Richard Harris
A new study predicts a huge increase in catastrophic hurricanes for the northeastern U.S. When hurricanes cause both extreme high tides and heavy rains, devastating floods ensue. Such storms will get much more frequent by the end of the century, according to a new study. Rebecca Hersher
Encore: Freshly made plutonium from outer space found on ocean floor Common chemical elements are created in stars like our sun. But heavy elements, like iron, are thought to form in massive stars that explode and spew material — though it might be more complicated. Nell Greenfieldboyce
Shark bites surged in 2021, rebounding from a drop earlier in the pandemic Still, the Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File says the high number of shark bites and deaths last year was on par with long-term averages. Joe Hernandez
This beetle larvae's flips are ready for the Olympics The larvae of a type of bark beetle can perform acrobatic flips, somersaulting their bodies through the air. They join maggots and other larvae in their athletic abilities. Christopher Intagliata
Even babies and toddlers know that swapping saliva is a sure sign of love For infants, toddlers, and children, one sign of an especially close relationship is if two people do something that involves exchanging saliva, like taking bites from the same piece of food. Nell Greenfieldboyce
