UNDARK

The name Undark comes from a historical blend of science and business that led to the creation of a radium-infused product known as Undark, which was both fascinating and, as later research revealed, harmful and dangerous. We choose this name to indicate to our readers that our magazine will delve into science not merely as an impressive spectacle, but as a complex, sometimes controversial, and at times unsettling aspect of human culture.

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Via the False Claim Act, NIH Puts Universities on Edge

1 week ago | undark.org | Sara Talpos

Earlier this year, a biomedical researcher at the University of Michigan received an update from the National Institutes of Health. The federal agency, which funds a large swath of the country’s medical science, had given the greenlight to begin releasing funding for the upcoming year on the researcher’s multi-year grant. Not long after, the researcher learned that the university had placed the grant on hold.
The EPA Wants to Roll Back Emissions Controls on Power Plants

1 week ago | undark.org | Molly Taft

Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency moved to roll back emissions standards for power plants, the second-largest source of CO2 emissions in the country, claiming that the American power sector does not “contribute significantly” to air pollution. “The bottom line is that the EPA is trying to get out of the climate change business,” says Ryan Maher, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity.
Uncovering the Exposome: An Emerging Field Casts a Wide Net

1 week ago | undark.org | Emma Foehringer Merchant

The lab buildings of Long Island’s renowned Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have hosted researchers responsible for some of the most consequential scientific leaps in human genetics and disease. In the last 60 years, eight of the lab’s scientists have earned Nobel Prizes, including for work on how viruses replicate, on chromosome structure, and how edited genes can cause disease.
Book Review: The Mystery of Alzheimer’s Disease in Rural Colombia

2 weeks ago | undark.org | Jessica Wapner

By age 43, Ofelia, who lived in the hills north of Medellín, Colombia, could no longer hold down a job because of the mistakes she made. She started collecting garbage and bringing it home for no apparent reason. She lost the ability to write words; all she could manage were senseless doodles. She died in 1996 at the age of 44, just as science was uncovering the cause of her early-onset, rapidly progressing dementia.
Counting the Potential Casualties of the One Big Beautiful Bill

2 weeks ago | undark.org | Sara Talpos

Last week, the growing tension between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk exploded into public view when Musk took aim at the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The legislation, which calls for sweeping changes to taxes and spending, is currently before the Senate. Somewhat lost in the hullabaloo was a new analysis by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University.
Book Review: The Precarious Dance of Humans and Microbes

2 weeks ago | undark.org | Lina Zeldovich

In 1676, Dutch fabric merchant Antonie van Leeuwenhoek held a magnifying glass to a sample of rainwater and saw a slew of tiny creatures squirming around. The first to observe such microscopic beings, he named them animalcules, later finding them in freshwater, seawater, and well water. As he watched them in action, he made detailed drawings and descriptions of their movements.
Norway Is All In on Electric Cars. What Can the U.S. Learn?

2 weeks ago | undark.org | Rod McCullom

In January, the Norwegian Road Federation released a statistic that turned heads inside transportation and climate circles: Almost 90 percent of new cars sold in Norway the previous year were fully electric. By the end of this year, the government expects sales of new gasoline and diesel cars to fall to zero and meet its goal to end the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2025.
Dysregulated: The Patchwork Policies of Ketamine Therapy

3 weeks ago | undark.org | Dawn Fallik

After trying unsuccessfully to treat his depression with medication over several decades, Noel Farris, a 43-year-old web developer based in Philadelphia, found a ketamine clinic through a friend’s recommendation. He’d heard that the drug helped people mentally dissociate from the disease. So last year, he met with the clinic’s doctor, who recommended three intravenous infusions per week for a month, at $400 a session. He never saw or talked to the doctor again.
The Uncertain and Shifting Future of Ph.D.s in Science

3 weeks ago | undark.org | Claudia Lopez Lloreda

Since the National Science Foundation first started collecting postgraduation data nearly 70 years ago, the number of Ph.D.s awarded in the United States has consistently risen. Last year, more than 45,000 students earned doctorates in science and engineering, about an eight-fold increase compared to 1958. But this level of production of science and engineering Ph.D. students is now in question.
'Make America Healthy Again' Report Cites Nonexistent Studies

4 weeks ago | undark.org | Emily Kennard |Margaret Manto

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says his “Make America Healthy Again” Commission report harnesses “gold-standard” science, citing more than 500 studies and other sources to back up its claims. Those citations, though, are rife with errors, from broken links to misstated conclusions. Seven of the cited sources don’t appear to exist at all. This story first appeared in NOTUS, a publication from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute.