Inside the world of special operations weather technicians, “the Department of Defense’s only commando forecasters.”

On former North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith, who died Saturday, and his battle with dementia.

On the coming age of domestic drones.

"What’s it like to be giving birth at home, and see blood pooling between your legs, and look up at the ashen faces of a birth attendant, a midwife, a spouse? What’s it like to feel the earth tremble and see the roof and walls of your home or school fall towards you? More to the point, in terms of survival: what happens next? It depends. Not just on the severity of the injury, but on who and where you are."

People have been having fun with nitrous oxide—often in the name of science—since its discovery more than 240 years ago.

Twelve-step programs treat alcohol and drugs according to the same principles. But heroin changes the way the brain works. If there’s a medication that treats heroin addiction, why aren’t we using it?

Living with hypersomnia, a disorder marked by sleeping dozens of hours straight and still never feeling truly awake.

Sown by science, a new eco-faith takes root.

In Russia’s Far East, an orphaned female tiger is the test case in an experimental effort to save one of the most endangered animals on earth.

People with Prader-Willi syndrome, caused by a genetic defect, always feel as though they’re starving. How can you condition them to control their appetites when temptation is everywhere?

“Easy care” sheep, crushed piglets, and starving calves. These are the products of a remote research center where scientists are trying to re-engineer the farm animal to fit the needs of the 21st-century meat industry.

Designing technology that allows ALS patients to communicate.

How mental illness reshapes a marriage.

Sheikh Humarr Khan was a globally renowned expert in tropical diseases, and the hero who ran Sierra Leone’s worst Ebola ward. So why, when he finally fell ill, was he denied the extraordinary treatments that could have saved him?

Save the honeybee, sterilize the earth.

The dilemma of providing quality health care for undocumented immigrants, and how one city is attempting to solve it.

“'You have to understand: This is not your husband anymore, not a beloved person, but a radioactive object with a strong density of poisoning. You’re not suicidal. Get a hold of yourself.' And I was like someone who’d lost her mind: 'But I love him! I love him!' He’s sleeping, and I’m whispering: 'I love you!' Walking in the hospital courtyard, 'I love you.' Carrying his sanitary tray, 'I love you.'”

The water’s nearly gone in the San Joaquin Valley, and an old farmer sees the writing on the wall.

The residents of Green Bank, West Virginia, can’t use cell phones, wi-fi, or other modern technology due to a high-tech government telescope. Recently, this ban has made the town a magnet for so-called electrosensitives, and the locals aren’t thrilled to have them.

Three years ago, Shell spent millions to send a colossal oil rig to drill in the remote seas of the Arctic. But the Arctic had other plans.

The scientists at Beyond Meat have concocted a plant-protein-based performance burger that delivers the juicy flavor and texture of beef with none of the dietary and environmental downsides.

Designing your own narcotics online isn’t just easy—it can be legal, too.

Forty-five years ago, Buzz Aldrin became the second man to walk on the moon. It made him one of the most famous people in the world. And it has haunted the rest of his life.

Climate change is giving rise to intermating between previously distinct species. Welcome to a world with “grolar bears.”

How the author writes best-selling non-fiction books without the ability to leave her house.