When it comes to cotton, butterflies play an unexpected role. A new study suggests that hoverflies and butterflies add about $120 million per year to the cotton harvest in Texas alone. Butterfly biologists hope the findings will encourage farmers to conserve habitat that benefits these overlooked pollinators.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, making choices that benefitted both physical and mental health was relatively straightforward, as these choices were one and the same. Today, however, our normal guideposts for navigating health decisions have been uprooted. June Gruber, PhD, and Jessica L. Borelli, PhD offer a few suggestions on how to approach this critical balance.

Amidst a year filled with tragedy, camaraderie and collaboration enabled scientific innovation to move society forward. Biochemist and Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna reflects on how a team of professors, researchers, volunteers and engineers pushed through physical and technical barriers to create and administer a PCR-Covid-19 test.

Scientists all over the world are rapidly sequencing coronavirus genomes in a massive genomic surveillance effort. It's the first time in history that researchers can detect novel mutations and track potentially dangerous variants in real time, influencing public policy and the global pandemic response.

Recent news of novel COVID-19 variants by researchers and media may be spreading unnecessary alarm about the viral mutations. To counter these premature reports, we need to determine exactly which strains might actually be cause for concern.

Messenger RNA technology powered the development of several early coronavirus vaccines. Scientists now look to apply the breakthrough mRNA technology to tackling viral diseases without successful vaccines including HIV, herpes, and malaria.