Will Sullivan

Will Sullivan

 

Will Sullivan is a science writer based in Washington, D.C. His work has appeared in Inside Science and NOVA Next.

A hazy smoke over Washington, D.C., on Thursday morning, where air quality reached very unhealthy levels, with increased risk of health effects for all groups.

Canadian Wildfires Send Harmful Smoke Across Eastern United States

At least 20 states were air quality alerts this week, and in some places, air quality reached unhealthy levels for all groups

Researchers hope that an injection could one day be a faster and safer substitute for surgical cat sterilization.

Scientists Develop New Birth Control for Female Cats—No Surgery Necessary

The one-time injection of a gene therapy could eventually be used to control cat populations

Paleontologist Lee Berger, who led the new research, walks in the Rising Star cave system in South Africa, where the possible burial sites were uncovered.

Ancient Human Relatives May Have Buried Their Dead

Remains in a South African cave system predate the oldest known human burials by about 160,000 years or more

Stronger policies around ill workers could improve food safety, the CDC says.

Sick Workers Connected to 41 Percent of Food Poisoning Outbreaks, CDC Reports

Paid sick leave policies could reduce the risk of spreading disease, notes the agency

The Charterhouse Warren site in Somerset, England, in 1972. Researchers detected the DNA of plague-causing bacteria in the 4,000-year-old remains of two people found there.

4,000-Year-Old DNA Is the Oldest Evidence of Plague in Britain

Scientists found DNA of the plague-causing bacteria in the teeth of three Bronze Age people buried at two different sites

An image of stem cells on a computer screen from 2010. Stem cells have the potential to develop into various types of cells.

Scientists Create 'Synthetic Embryos' From Monkey Cells

By studying lab-grown stem cells, scientists hope to shed light on miscarriages and birth defects

The tiny device generates electricity from the air in a way that resembles how clouds make the electricity we see in lightning bolts.

This New Device Generates Electricity From Thin Air

Nearly any material covered with tiny holes can derive energy from humidity, per a new study, opening doors to more sustainable power

An image of Mars' surface captured by China's Zhurong rover, which landed in May 2021 and studied sand dunes near its landing site for nine months.

Sand Dune Features Hint at 'Recent' Water Flow on Mars

Between 1.4 million and 400,000 years ago, liquid salt water may have made cracks and crusts near the Martian equator, per data from China's Zhurong rover

Gert-Jan Oskam was paralyzed in a biking accident in 2011. After rehab with an implant, he's been able to walk more than 330 feet at a time and climb stairs.

Paralyzed Man Walks Again With Brain and Spinal Cord Implants

The experimental technology translates the patient's thoughts into voluntary movements

Two views of a composite reconstruction of the earliest known Homo sapiens fossils, which were discovered six years ago in Morocco and date to around 300,000 years ago.

DNA Suggests Modern Humans Emerged From Several Groups in Africa, Not One

Scientists used computer modeling and the genomes of several hundred living people to examine our prehistoric origins

The Colorado River's Glen Canyon Dam, which creates Lake Powell.

States Propose Landmark Deal to Conserve the Colorado River

The water cuts suggested by California, Arizona and Nevada are not as ambitious as those proposed by the federal government, but they will buy time

The Big Apple's 1,084,954 buildings weigh an estimated 1.68 trillion pounds.

New York City Is Sinking Under the Weight of Its Skyscrapers, Study Finds

As the city, and others like it, slowly subsides, it becomes more vulnerable to flooding driven by climate change

North Carolina's Camp Lejeune in 2017. From 1953 to 1987, the drinking water at the base was contaminated with a number of chemicals.

Common Chemical Strongly Linked to Parkinson's

Service members stationed at Camp Lejeune, where water was contaminated, had a 70 percent greater risk of developing the movement disorder, new study finds

Landscape of Saudi Arabia where some of the to-scale engravings were found.

Archaeologists Discover the Oldest Known Blueprints

The Stone Age engravings are to-scale depictions of desert kites, massive stone structures used by hunters to capture animals

A death cap mushroom, the most poisonous mushroom in the world. Around 90 percent of all mushroom-related fatalities are caused by the fungus.

Possible Antidote to World's Deadliest Mushroom Discovered

A dye used in medical imaging appeared to make the death cap's toxin less fatal to mice in a new study

An MRI of the brain of a person with Alzheimer's not connected to the new study.

A Man's Rare Genetic Mutation May Have Prevented Alzheimer's for Decades

Scientists hope the findings could lead to treatments for the memory-destroying disease

Saturn's rings and five of its moons, as captured by the Cassini spacecraft in 2011. The five moons, from left to right, are Janus, Pandora, Enceladus, Mimas and Rhea.

Saturn May Have Just Won the 'Moon Race' With 62 More Discovered

It will likely reign supreme as our solar system's planet with the most moons from now on, astronomers say

An offshore well in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana

14,000 Inactive Oil and Gas Wells Are Unplugged in the Gulf of Mexico

Capping these potential sources of methane could cost $30 billion. But targeting wells in shallow waters would have the highest impact, a new study finds

An experimental "peanut patch" could help ease stress in families of young children with allergies.

A Skin Patch Could Help Allergic Toddlers Tolerate Peanuts

Some young children with allergies could eat low doses of peanuts without a severe reaction after wearing the patch for a year in a clinical trial

The "pangenome" is meant to make medicine more equitable by including genetic sequences from a more diverse group of people.

Researchers Reveal the 'Pangenome,' a More Diverse Look at Human DNA

The new version of the human genome could lead to better diagnostics and treatment of genetic diseases

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