President Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Cuba in nearly 90 years as he set off on a three-day trip to the island nation on Sunday, the latest step in a thaw in relations that began in December 2014.

Ahead of the trip, the administration issued its fifth set of measures relaxing regulations that restrict U.S. banking,...

Merrick Garland, President Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court, has become the subject of enormous controversy, pitting politics against history and dueling readings of the Constitution.

But if Senate Judiciary Committee did interview him, what would they ask? We examined a selection of his 334 opinions written for the Court of Appeals...

This October, former police officer Michael Slager will stand trial for murder in the shooting death of Walter Scott following a daytime traffic stop last year in North Charleston, South Carolina. The critical evidence in the case is a smartphone video captured by a then 23-year-old barber named Feidin Santana as he was walking to work. The video...

Acne is one of the most common dermatologic diseases, affecting 40-50 million people each year in the United States. While best known as a bothersome part of puberty, affecting approximately 85 percent of young people, acne...

When the New Horizons spacecraft made its flyby of Pluto on July 14, 2015, there was worldwide celebration that we’d finally gotten our first detailed look at this completely new type of planet in the outer reaches of our solar system.

But for...

Should a teacher reward a whole class for the good deeds of one student? What about the other side of the discipline picture: should a whole class be punished for the misdeeds of just a few students?

As adults, we care a lot about whether people receive...

In 2008, a friend sent me a link to a Czech company called IVF Holiday. Clicking the link, I saw images of quaint European towns. These were accompanied by pictures of smiling white babies – and promises of affordable and safe rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF).

I soon realized I’d stumbled into a...

Millions of citizen scientists have been flocking to projects that pool their time and brainpower to tackle big scientific problems, from astronomy to zoology. Projects such as those hosted by the Zooniverse get people...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) made net neutrality the law of the land and pledged to enforce it when it issued its “open Internet order” 13 months ago. That ruling barred Internet service providers (ISPs) from discriminating against certain types of traffic or creating pay-to-play fast lanes.

But a recent trend in the...

Ascetics preparing and smoking opium outside a rural dwelling in India.Wellcome Library, London, CC BY

Abuse of opium products obtained from poppy plants dates back centuries, but today we are witnessing the first instance of widespread abuse of legal, prescribed drugs that, while structurally...