Stories by Tulika Bose

Belief in witchcraft and sorcery is deeply rooted in Papua New Guinea's culture and history, but it can lead to violence, particularly against women. Local public health experts are working to end this violence through education.

Epigenetics research reveals how famines can cause health problems later in life—and how those changes might be passed down to future generations.

A recent study on risk-taking and bisexuality made assumptions that some experts don’t agree with.

How artist and astrophysicist Nia Imara makes 3-D prints of the birth of stars

From Papua New Guinea to the Andaman Islands, Indigenous languages are under threat. An Indian linguist helped preserve one language family.

A new study used machine learning to “autocomplete” the life trajectories of six million Danish people—and forecast when they might kick the bucket.

In 2013 a new user named Cleo took an online math forum by storm with unproved answers. Today she’s an urban legend. But who was she? A 2023 editor's pick. 

Thanks to researchers, new AI tech is delving into feline feelings to see when cats could need medical help. 

Three experts break down how misinformation and propaganda spread through conflict and how to debunk it yourself.

In the rush to build and train ever larger AI models, developers have swept up much of the searchable Internet, quite possibly including some of your own public data—and potentially some of your private data as well.

A Stanford researcher is growing crystals on the International Space Station and electronics to withstand the extreme environments of Venus.

A pediatric oncologist is racing against time to send scores of sick children out of Ukraine for medical aid.

Apothecaries founded this famous garden—one of the most ancient botanical gardens in Europe—to teach their students which plants poison and which plants cure. 

What is behind the Black maternal mortality crisis, and what needs to change? In this podcast from Nature and Scientific American, leading academics unpack the racism at the heart of the system.

Here’s how scientists are planning on getting underground fungi data from space using satellites.

Atmospheric carbon is a currency that plants use to “buy” nutrients from fungi in the soil. To find out where this economy will go next, the devil is in the details. And the details are in the dirt.

Like us, plants and fungi have complex economies. By burning fossil fuels, we’ve been devaluing their currency.

Drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic might help people tackle substance abuse as well as shed pounds.

Scientists used a smoking machine—complete with a 3-D-printed mouthpiece—to figure out how to get the most cannabinoid per puff. 

Here’s what’s behind the A.I technology that has worried so many actors—including something called “the orb.”

Researchers, using the galaxy as a detector, believe they have detected gravitational waves from monster black holes for the first time.

Toxic dust plagues marginalized communities on the shores of this disappearing salt lake.

In 2013 a new user named Cleo took an online math forum by storm with unproved answers. Today she’s an urban legend. But who was she?

From the technology upsetting jobs and causing intellectual property issues to models making up fake answers to questions, here’s why we’re concerned about generative AI.