Joel Achenbach

The document cites recently obtained data showing that vaccinated individuals infected with the delta variant may be able to transmit the virus as easily as those who are unvaccinated.

Laboratory research published Thursday in the journal Nature found that the two-shot regimen of Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines induces robust protection against the delta variant, but a single shot of those two vaccines “barely” offers any protection.

The move reflects the agency’s recognition that the two-week quarantine is onerous and that most of the benefit can be gained with a more flexible approach.

The coronavirus pandemic numbers have been going the wrong direction for more than a month, and an anticipated surge in interstate travel, family gatherings and indoor socializing is expected to facilitate the spread of COVID-19.

The National Institutes of Health chief calls the idea “dangerous” and “fringe.”

The instruments tell a consistent story: The surface of the Earth became unusually calm and quiet as the virus raced across the planet earlier this year.

The discovery at a prehistoric burial site suggests the cannabis plants were selected for higher potency.

The researchers based their conclusion on air samples from monitoring stations in South Korea and Japan.

Ethicists advise caution with research that blurs the line between life and death.

Scott Kelly says he didn’t feel normal until eight months after he returned from the International Space Station, but researchers say it was nothing that would prevent even longer space treks, such as to Mars.

The orthodoxy is that earthquakes are chaotic and unpredictable. But here comes “machine learning.”

A sweeping study says the global food system is pushing Earth beyond safe “planetary boundaries.”

The U.S. Geological Survey published for the first time an earthquake hazard map covering both natural and "induced" quakes. The map and an accompanying report indicate that parts of the central United States now face a ground-shaking hazard equal to the famously unstable terrain of California.

In an announcement that electrified the world of astronomy, scientists said Thursday that they have finally detected gravitational waves, the ripples in the fabric of space-time that Einstein predicted a century ago.

Astronomers at the California Institute of Technology announced Wednesday that they have found new evidence of a giant icy planet lurking in the darkness of our solar system far beyond the orbit of Pluto. They are calling it "Planet Nine."