Science Magazine

5 days ago | science.org | Jeffrey Brainard

More biomedical research papers may soon be available to be read right away and used for free under a new U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) policy set to take effect on 1 July aimed at speeding the dissemination of scientific findings. But many authors are unprepared for the consequences, and some are worried such policies could accelerate misuse or misrepresentation of their findings, a new survey indicates.

1 week ago | science.org | Nala Rogers

Himba people from rural Namibia can see right through optical illusions that trick people from the United States and United Kingdom. Even when there’s no “right” or “wrong” way to interpret an image, what Himba people see is often vastly different from what people see in industrialized societies, a new preprint suggests.

1 week ago | science.org | Jon Cohen

To many, it is the next best thing to an HIV vaccine. On Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new way to prevent HIV infection: the antiretroviral drug lenacapavir, which provides almost complete protection for 6 months with a single injection in the abdomen. Global health officials think the drug might help quell the tide of new HIV infections, still more than 1 million around the world each year.

1 week ago | science.org | Sarah Crespi |Meagan Cantwell |Daniel Clery

W.

1 week ago | science.org | Sang Lee |Sascha Bub |Anna Papp |Allessandra DiCorato

ILLUSTRATION: ADA ZEJUN SHENAn astronaut hides her queer identity to protect her career. A museum researcher is detained while returning from international travel. A biologist grapples with extinction as war breaks out in Ukraine. A physicist confronts the off-Earth options for humanity. These themes, any of which might have been plucked from current headlines, are explored by the authors of this year’s summer reading selections—all of which are works of fiction.