Issues in Science and Technology

Gallery

The Art and Science of Indigo

The indigo plant produces an exquisite dye that was so highly prized it was called “blue gold.” One of the few naturally occurring blue pigments, indigo has a variety of artistic and scientific applications.

Real Numbers

What We Learned From 25,775 Environmental Lawsuits

Christopher Rea

Lawsuits play a critical role in enforcing and upholding environmental laws. Whose concerns are prioritized? What environmental harms are litigated—and which are overlooked?

The Ongoing Transformation

How ADHD Affects Adults

David Goodman, Sara Frueh

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is the second most prevalent psychiatric disorder in adults. David Goodman explains how ADHD affects adults, the complexities in how it’s diagnosed and treated, and open questions for research in the field.

Open Science

Let Unfunded Grant Applications See the Light of Day

Stuart Buck, Christopher Steven Marcum

Showing which proposals do and don’t receive federal funding can improve research and advance open science.

Weight-Loss Drugs

The Ozempic Era Could Shift Blame for Obesity From Individuals to Commercial Food Systems

Laura A. Schmidt, Luc L. Hagenaars

A new class of medications that people are taking to control their weight could help redirect blame for obesity toward the broader food system and ineffective food policies.

The Ongoing Transformation

Kelvin Droegemeier Articulates a Vision for American Science

Kelvin Droegemeier, Megan Nicholson

Kelvin Droegemeier, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2019–2021, shares what it’s like to work on science policy at the state and federal levels, discusses what he sees as the pressing science policy issues of our time, and reflects on his leadership roles in academia and government.

"r&d" means something else on capitol hill

Science in Congress

“R&D” Means Something Different on Capitol Hill

Sheril Kirshenbaum

Scientists need to learn how information flows to congressional staffers—and the crucial role they play in setting policy.

Science Education

Inclusive Science Education Is Not Zero-Sum

David Asai

Including everyone in science education not only improves the scientific enterprise, but it is essential for the democratization of personal agency in the twenty-first century.

The Strange New Politics of Science

Vol. XLI, No. 3, Spring 2025

Solving the disconnects between science and society will require much more than good ideas and good intentions—it will require the political will to bring the fragmented institutions of science together. Today’s political environment precludes the science community from making its old pitches to Congress; it will need to break old habits, build new bonds at personal, local, and regional levels, and reconsider the way it works.

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From This Issue

The Ozempic Era Could Shift Blame for Obesity From Individuals to Commercial Food Systems

Laura A. Schmidt, Luc L. Hagenaars

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Spring 2025
Practicing Health Care for Transgender Youth
A Discussion of
The Heart Is Not Neutral
Response By
Meredithe McNamara
Spring 2025
Looking Beyond the Ghost Scenario
A Discussion of
Step Into the Free and Infinite Laboratory of the Mind
Responses By
Matthew Finch Suzette Brooks Masters

Beyond the Headlines

Revamping Nuclear Engineering for a Complex World

President Trump recently issued executive orders with the stated goal of dramatically ramping up nuclear energy. All the more reason why, as Aditi Verma and Denia Djokić maintain in Issues, the… Read More

CRISPR Gene Editor Scores Major Success

In what is described as a medical first, researchers repaired a tiny but critical error in the genetic code of a baby born with a rare and dangerous genetic disease, using a… Read More

Driverless Trucks Seem on a Roll

In Texas recently, the first fully driverless trucking service—using one semitrailer—started running a regular commercial long-haul route. Soon after, a trade group petitioned the Trump administration to “streamline federal regulations to spark… Read More

Musical Sea Lion Adding to New View of Animals

Grooving to a playlist of songs, a teenage California sea lion named Ronan has demonstrated anew her ability to keep a beat, better than when she was a pup, and even better… Read More

Future Tense Fiction

Future Tense Fiction is a speculative fiction series that uses imagination to explore how science and technology will shape our future. It features short stories written by acclaimed authors across a wide range of styles. Each story is paired with original artwork by Rey Velasquez Sagcal and a response essay from an expert who connects the fictional narrative to real-world policy debates.

The Limits of Heat Resilience

Pope L. Moseley

How resilient to extreme heat can humans really be? Our bodies have a limit—and our response to climate change should reflect that.

Response
The Shade Technician

Harrison Cook

In a heat-sieged city whose residents have become functionally nocturnal, an essential worker labors during the day to fix private shade structures designed to provide shelter from the grueling sun for anyone who can pay.
What If an All-Knowing Algorithm Ran Traffic and Transit?

Henry Grabar

A journalist who reports on cities and autonomous vehicles responds to Linda Nagata’s “Ride.”

Response
Ride

Linda Nagata

Jasmine, a hotel worker in a future climate-ravaged Hawaii, is desperate for a change to her monotonous routine. When a guest tells Jasmine about a secret hack to tinker with the taxi-share system the island’s workers rely on, she’s forced to ride with some unusual fellow commuters, who change her mind about what her true destination should be.
Automated Justice?

Elizabeth Joh

The emerging applications of artificial intelligence promise huge social benefits: significant gains in detecting breast cancer that allow radiologists to focus on other patient needs, the deciphering of text inside a 2,000-year-old… Read More

Response
The 28th

Mark Stasenko

In a future legal system in which the investigators, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and juries are all replaced or supervised by artificial intelligence, who can be trusted? And are the contradictions and flaws inherent in human decisionmaking actually an asset?

Collection

Climate and Health

Expore the Collection

Climate change poses a significant threat to human health. Extreme heat, stronger storms, new pathogens, food and water insecurity, and many other stressors pose dangers to human well-being. In addition, these health risks are not evenly distributed: They will affect society’s most vulnerable people most. What can be done to keep all people healthy on a warmer planet?

Foiling the Growing Threat of Fungal Pathogens

Angel N. Desai, George R. Thompson III

Climate change, changing migration patterns, and our agriculture system have created a perfect environment for fungal pathogens to thrive.
Channels for Arctic Diplomacy

Nataliya Shok, Katherine Ginsbach

Illustration by Shonagh Rae During the summer of 2016, in Russia’s arctic Yamal Peninsula, a heat wave resurfaced anthrax bacteria long buried in the permafrost. The bacteria then killed thousands of reindeer… Read More
Behind the Bougainvillea Curtain: Wildfires and Inequality

Michael Méndez

More equitable approaches to preparation and relief efforts for wildfires and other disasters must include undocumented Latino and Indigenous migrants.
A Climate Equity Agenda Informed by Community Brilliance

Jalonne L. White-Newsome

With every heat wave and flood, the failure to translate climate science into insight and action puts the health and well-being of people in vulnerable communities at risk. Intentional partnerships between residents, scientists, government, industry, and philanthropy can fix this disconnect.