Stories by Francie Diep

A classic gender divide persists even among people who scored as 11- to 13-year-olds in the top 1 percent in the U.S. on the SAT

The NIH is due to roll out new sex-balance policies this month. So far that's meant "carrot" rather than "stick" measures, and no clear date for changes to funding rules

The 60-metric-ton herbivore may tell future researchers more about how gargantuan sauropods lived and evolved

Outlining, annotating and typing notes all improve understanding in high school and college

Scientists are gaining a more sophisticated understanding of the role of toxins in worldwide bee declines as lab studies of single insects are superseded by research on hives in the field

Plus, why colony collapse disorder is not that big a deal anymore

ENCODE, the $185-million successor to the Human Genome Project, promises to reveal new details about our DNA. But controversy persists as geneticists remain at odds over one little f-word—"function"

Mathematicians take their cues from owl wings to design quieter, less obtrusive planes

A grid malfunction in Agra may be the cause, some media report. Also northern Indian states were drawing more power from the grid than allotted

The 200-terabyte 1,000 Genomes Project data will now be stored for free, although analytic computing resources will come at a price

Researchers plan to use the program's techniques to create easy-to-use programs for artists to make 3D models

People have to manage their own time. Why can't our machines do the same? New software will keep them humming

10 new technologies that will make a difference

Changing HDL and LDL levels does not always alter heart disease or stroke risk

A biologist talks about what makes disease-causing proteins so difficult to target with drugs

Marijuana remains tightly controlled, even though its compounds show promise

A new drug contaminant is causing frightening outbreaks of blackened skin and low white blood cell counts

Established researchers and one student try to answer the “Why?” behind a recent study showing black scientists are less likely to get funded than white scientists

Missed watching the NASA's Juno spacecraft embark for the solar system's largest planet? Here are some photos of the liftoff

A photo collection of bird nests showcases roadrunners' thorny nurseries, hummingbirds' delicate digs and a wren nest that's wrapped in sheep's wool

An aquatic scientist describes the challenges of studying creatures that live deep under the sea

Smarter language processors are helping experts analyze millions of short-text messages from across the Internet

Is it possible? The United Nations agency thinks so. To see why, follow an HIV-positive mom and her baby as they go through an 18-month HIV-transmission prevention program