A Deadly Outbreak of Plague, Nearly 5,000 Years Before the Black Death

The oldest known cases, discovered among hunter-gatherers in Siberian graves, contradict the theory that the disease once was mild.

By Carl Zimmer

In Ancient Pits Near Stonehenge, Scientists See Hints of Solstice Ritual

British archaeologists may have found the remains of a site where people celebrated the solstice thousands of years ago, a few miles from the famed stone circle.

By Amelia Nierenberg

How Bad Could the Ebola Outbreak Get? Here Are 5 Key Factors.

Contact tracing is improving. Treatments may be months away. Here’s what could determine whether a fast-expanding outbreak can be slowed down.

By Stephanie Nolen, Samuel Granados, Amy Schoenfeld Walker, Carl Zimmer and Apoorva Mandavilli

Buildings May Soon Have ‘Immune Systems’ That Fight Airborne Disease

Following the pandemic, the federal government is spending $150 million on new technology to ensure clean indoor air. Here’s what scientists are pursuing.

By Carl Zimmer and Caroline Gutman

Trilobites

X-Ray Specs for the World’s Oldest, Sealed Letters

A team of historians, scientists and engineers has developed a portable X-ray scanner to study 4,000-year-old letters encased in clay envelopes.

By Katherine Kornei

François Englert, Nobelist Who Helped Predict the ‘God Particle,’ Dies at 93

His work paved the way for the discovery of the Higgs boson, which explained how particles acquire mass, solving one of the deepest mysteries in physics.

By Dylan Loeb McClain

Is Climate Change Supercharging El Niño? A Debate Rages.

As a new, potentially record-breaking El Niño begins, researchers are vigorously debating whether climate change is driving the phenomenon’s intensity.

By Chico Harlan

California Needs Water and Clean Power. It Might Have a Fix for Both.

A pilot program is building solar panels over irrigation canals to generate electricity. As a bonus, the shade prevents water from evaporating.

By Quinn Glabicki

Justice Department Makes It Easier to Bypass Pollution Controls on Pickups

It has stopped criminal prosecutions of people who install “defeat devices,” which make diesel trucks faster and more efficient but also dirtier.

By Karen Zraick

Loophole in Patent Law Brings ‘Miracle Drug’ to Patients Who Can’t Afford It

A generic version of a breakthrough cystic fibrosis drug, manufactured in Bangladesh for a fraction of the American price, may give some families around the world an unlikely lifeline.

By Stephanie Nolen

At This Camp, Everyone Knows What It Means to Have Breast Cancer

The annual, four-day retreat in Pennsylvania, attended by hundreds of breast cancer survivors, has become so popular that organizers plan to add a West Coast location.

By Roni Caryn Rabin

New Plan Scales Back C.D.C.’s Work on Diseases Abroad

The State Department is taking over much of the control of global health initiatives, for which critics say the department does not have the expertise.

By Apoorva Mandavilli

Cities and Schools Are Testing Wastewater for Illicit Drugs

The White House recently endorsed monitoring sewage for evidence of drug use. Critics fear such efforts could violate privacy and stigmatize neighborhoods.

By Jan Hoffman