Students from minoritized groups enter college with interest in STEM but leave these majors at high rates, largely due to inequities in STEM classes. Active learning reduces the disparities in exam scores and passing rates observed in traditional STEM classrooms. Thus, changes in course design can be an important tool in promoting equity in STEM.

A new study explains how Arctic sea ice might have melted completely during the Last Interglacial (warm period) around 130,000 years ago and supports predictions that the region will be sea ice-free by 2030-2060.

Our excavation at Chiquihuite Cave in Zacatecas, Mexico, produced evidence that humans arrived to the Americas as early as 32,000 year ago, doubling the currently accepted age for the human presence on the continent. Stone artefacts made of limestone reveal an enigmatic population and a new culture that had not been acknowledged before.

The world’s coral reefs are embattled by increasing human pressures. My colleagues and I explored which coral reefs could still simultaneously meet key fisheries, biodiversity, and ecosystem function goals, and how conservation efforts could be strategically placed to maximise these. We found that no-fishing reserves in locations far from people were critical to sustaining coral reefs.

Until recently, the immune system was thought to be excluded from the brain. A new study shows that the immune system is not only able to enter the brain - it must do so if our brains are to reach their full potential. Immune cells in the brain allow neurons to make strong circuits during memory formation. These results identify a new link between the immune system and cognition.

In situ non-invasive spectroscopic methods combined with synchrotron radiation X-ray techniques allowed us to unveil that moisture, but not light, is the main factor triggering the degradation of cadmium yellow paints in The Scream (ca. 1910) by Edvard Munch (Munch Museum, Oslo). The findings will contribute to preserve the masterpiece, which is rarely exhibited due to its tendency to degrade.