Thanks to lab techniques like PCR, we can detect the presence of dangerous viruses with laser-sharp precision.
Mathematical tools that proved essential during the pandemic were in many cases invented by mathematicians who had no particular goal in mind.
Decades of basic science research on an obscure virus helped fast-track COVID-19 vaccines.
The surprising history of vaccinology that helped produce a COVID-19 vaccine in record time with 95% efficacy.
Decades of basic science research have helped us to understand this evolutionary arms race and stay one step ahead of the pathogens in our midst.
Understanding How COVID-19 Spreads
Exploring the minuscule and mysterious world of viruses.
Anthony Fauci discusses the battle against COVID-19 with Robert Bazell.
A look back at the Sloan Foundation’s successful 25-year partnership with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
Janet Rossant, a rockstar stem cell scientist, was first just curious about blastocysts.
The new view of the cosmos.
Inventions in one discipline can build on—and spur—basic research in many others, often unwittingly.
Entomology—and all curiosity driven research—catalyzes unexpected, useful discoveries.
Many scientists believe Einstein’s theory of general relativity will need to be modified. What new evidence will point the way?
It’s now possible to map a person’s lifetime exposure to nutrition, bacteria, viruses, and environmental toxins—which profoundly influence human health.
We know that the circadian clock keeps time in every living cell, controlling biological processes such as metabolism, cell division, and DNA repair, but we don’t understand how.
