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Science Summaries and Reviews

See all summaries and reviews from Science at a glance.

8 Article

Bringing Machine Learning to the Masses

Scientists without coding skills adopt easy-to-use artificial intelligence software
Matthew Hutson
Science, 2019
8 Article

What Can Machine Learning Do? Workforce Implications

Profound change is coming, but roles for humans remain.
Erik Brynjolfsson and Tom Mitchell
Science, 2017
8 Article

Widely Available Supplement May Explain Brain Boost from Exercise

Studies in mice show selenium increases the number of new neurons, and improves memory in old age.
Rodrigo Pérez Ortega
Science, 2022
9 Article

How AI Can Be a Force for Good

An ethical framework will help to harness the potential of AI while keeping humans in control
Mariarosaria Taddeo and Luciano Floridi
Science, 2018
9 Article
Jennifer Couzin-Frankel et al.
Science, 2019
8 Article
Emily Underwood
Science, 2018
7 Article

The War on Gluten

Wheat sensitivity isn’t imaginary, most researchers now agree. But what’s really behind it?
Kelly Servick
Science, 2018
9 Article

The Bias Detective

Psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt explores the roots of unconscious bias – and its tragic consequences for US society
Douglas Starr
Science, 2020
8 Article

Nitrogen in the Environment

Excess nitrogen causes problems in developed nations, but nitrogen-poor soils threaten food security elsewhere.
Carly J. Stevens
Science, 2019
8 Article

The Little Reactors that Could

Billed as safe and cheap, NuScale’s small reactors aim to revive the ailing nuclear industry and help save a warming planet.
Adrian Cho
Science, 2019
8 Article

Where Are the Women?

Female scientists allege discrimination and neglect of research on women at NIH’s child health institute
Meredith Wadman
Science, 2020
8 Article

Scientifically Assess Impacts of Sustainable Investments

Metrics can inform investors wary of “green washing”
C. J. Vörösmarty et al.
Science, 2018
8 Article

Discrimination Causes Nearly Instantaneous Spikes in Stress Hormones

The study of real-time cortisol levels opens the door to understanding how daily life events influence health
Rodrigo Pérez Ortega
Science, 2022
8 Article

Witnessing a Wearables Transition

Assistive robots must mimic human dynamics and move toward neural-interface control.
José L. Pons
Science, 2019
9 Article

The Calorie Counter

Evolutionary anthropologist Herman Pontzer busts myths about how humans burn calories – and why
Ann Gibbons
Science, 2021
8 Article

Quest for Fire

Rob McGinnis aims to use renewable energy to turn carbon dioxide and water into gasoline
Robert F. Service
Science, 2019
9 Article
Manon Bruininga et al.
Science, 2018
8 Article

Lighting Up the Nighttime

Artificial light at night needs to be reduced to limit negative environmental impacts.
Kevin J. Gaston
Science, 2018
8 Article

The Paradox of Irrigation Efficiency

Higher efficiency rarely reduces water consumption
R. Quentin Grafton et al.
Science, 2018
9 Article

Dubious Diagnosis

A war on “prediabetes” has created millions of new patients and a tempting opportunity for pharma. But how real is the condition?
Charles Piller
Science, 2019
8 Article

After the Deluge

Twelve years after Hurricane Katrina, social scientists seek lessons from its survivors
Kelly Servick
Science, 2018
9 Article

Germany Seeks ‘Big Flip’ in Publishing Model

Consortium hopes to make all German-authored papers open access by paying annual fee
Gretchen Vogel and Kai Kupferschmidt
Science, 2017
8 Article

The Science of Fake News

Addressing fake news requires a multidisciplinary effort
David M. J. Lazer et al.
Science, 2018
8 Article

An Atomic-Scale View of Cyclocarbon Synthesis

Combining organic synthesis with microscopy addresses long-standing bottlenecks in cyclocarbon production.
Sabine Maier
Science, 2019
8 Article

The Case for a Supply-Side Climate Treaty

The Paris Agreement can be strengthened by a treaty limiting global fossil fuel supply
G. B. Asheim et al.
Science, 2019
8 Article
Jean-Francois Bastin et al.
Science, 2019
8 Article

The Confession

A psychologist has shown how police questioning can get innocent people to condemn themselves.
Douglas Starr
Science, 2019
8 Article

China’s CRISPR Revolution

Editing of plant, animal and human genomes has never been easier, as this country’s scientists are rapidly demonstrating.
Nirja Desai and Jon Cohen
Science, 2019
8 Article

The New Potato

Breeders seek a breakthrough to help farmers facing an uncertain future
Erik Stokstad
Science, 2019
7 Article

Advances in Weather Prediction

Better weather and environmental forecasting will continue to improve well-being.
Richard B. Alley et al.
Science, 2019
9 Article

Making Chemicals with Electricity

Hydrogen can be produced in electrically heated reactors, reducing CO2 emissions
Kevin M. Van Geem et al.
Science, 2019
9 Article

A Change of Mind

Scientists are Learning to Predict Psychosis Years in Advance – and Possibly Prevent it
Jennifer Couzin-Frankel
Science, 2017
9 Article

The Controversial Correlates of Consciousness

New data suggest that the prefrontal cortex ignites networks supporting consciousness.
George A. Mashour
Science, 2018
8 Article

When Did Modern Humans Leave Africa?

A ~180,000-year-old fossil from Israel provides evidence for early forays of Homo sapiens into western Asia.
Chris Stringer and Julia Galway-Witham
Science, 2018
7 Article

Liquid Sunshine

Ammonia made from sun, air and water could turn Australia into a renewable energy superpower.
Robert F. Service
Science, 2018
8 Article

A “Technology-Smart” Battery Policy Strategy for Europe

Batteries’ inherent characteristics should inform policies.
Martin Beuse et al.
Science, 2018
9 Article

Crystalline Nets Snare Water and Make Fuel from Thin Air

Having solved stability problems, chemists think metal-organic frameworks are ready for a commercial ascent.
Robert F. Service
Science, 2019
8 Article

Daring to Hope

Patients thrill to reports of a promising antisense drug against Huntington disease, but no one is sure yet whether it works
Meredith Wadman and John Lehmann
Science, 2018
8 Article

Flashes in the Scan

A Homespun Telescope in Western Canada Could Solve the Mystery of Fast Radio Bursts by Detecting Dozens Each Day
Daniel Clery
Science, 2019
7 Article

Was There Ever Really a “Sugar Conspiracy”?

Twists and turns in science and policy are not necessarily products of malevolence
David Merritt Johns and Gerald M. Oppenheimer
Science, 2018
9 Article

The Perfect Wave

A scientist and a surfer team up to convert a landlocked lake into The Endless Summer dream
Jon Cohen
Science, 2017
8 Article

Zapping Cocaine Addiction

Powerful magnetic pulses that modify brain activity may loosen the drug’s grip.
Meredith Wadman
Science, 2017
9 Article

Basic Instincts

Some say artificial intelligence needs to learn like a child.
Matthew Hutson
Science, 2018
8 Article

The Realist

Vaclav Smil looks to history for the future of energy. What he sees is sobering.
Paul Voosen
Science, 2018
8 Article

Using Nature to Understand Nurture

Genetic associations show how parenting matters for children’s education
Philipp D. Koellinger and K. Paige Harden
Science, 2018
9 Article

The Rewarding Nature of Social Contact

New research in mice elucidates neural mechanisms underlying social interactions
Stephanie D. Preston
Science, 2017
8 Article

In Thousands of Brain Scans, Group Seeks Clues to Diseases

Amid probe of many brain disorders, ENIGMA finds common structural changes in diverse kinds of epilepsy
Giorgia Guglielmi
Science, 2018
9 Article

The Organoid Architect

Han Clevers pioneered lab-built mini-organs that can serve as models of disease
Gunjan Sinha
Science, 2017
9 Article

In a Major Shift, Cancer Drugs Go ‘Tissue-Agnostic’

Encouraged by an FDA approval, companies design cancer drugs to work in any solid tumor
Ken Garber
Science, 2017
8 Article

Small but Mighty

Miniature antibodies discovered in sharks and camels are a boon for research and perhaps medicine.
Mitch Leslie
Science, 2018
8 Article

‘Ancestry problem’ Sends CRISPR Astray in Some People

Reference genomes used to direct the gene editor fail to account for human diversity in those of African descent
Jocelyn Kaiser
Science, 2022
8 Article

Golden Eye

A new space telescope makes a spectacular debut after a troubled gestation
Daniel Clery
Science, 2022
8 Article

Omicron Booster Shots Are Coming – With Lots of Questions

COVID-19 vaccines get their first update since the pandemic began. Here’s what you need to know about them
Gretchen Vogel
Science, 2022
8 Article

New Artificial Enamel is Harder and More Durable Than the Real Thing

Novel material mimics enamel’s complex structure with stronger components
Graycen Wheeler
Science, 2022
8 Article

To Help Aging Populations, Classify Organismal Senescence

Comprehensive disease classification and staging is required to address unmet needs of aging populations
Stuart R. G. Calimport and et al.
Science, 2019
7 Article

Financial Temptation Increases Civic Honesty

Altruism and self-image, not selfishness, drive surprising findings
Shaul Shalvi
Science, 2019
8 Article

Missed Shots: Science Revisits its 2020 Breakthrough of the Year

The COVID-19 vaccine rollout was a spectacular success – and a stunning tragedy.
Kai Kupferschmidt
Science, 2021
8 Article

Novavax’s Long-Awaited COVID-19 Vaccine Authorizations Offer an Alternative to mRNA

European Commission and World Health Organization approvals usher in key addition to vaccine supply
Meredith Wadman
Science, 2021
8 Article

When Health Tech Companies Change Their Terms of Service

Consumers may have limited control over their data
Jessica L. Roberts and Jim Hawkins
Science, 2020