The Masthead is starting a competition to find this summer’s best longread.

By studying flies, researchers have identified a gene that induces sleepiness—and protects against infections.

An appetite-suppressing drug makes them act as if they’ve already feasted on blood.

Disease narratives maintain certain features over time, even as specific details vary to fit a new epidemic or context.

Science has a history of inflated promises when it comes to disease treatment.

The threat of a flu pandemic clouds even his legendary optimism, so he's launching an initiative to prevent one.

Geneticists can’t see this machine, but they can see its works—and they say it might be the key to reshaping the genome.

Or do they?

Fifteen years after the Human Genome Project, scientists are still mostly studying genes that have already been well studied.

Cuts to research may have spoiled the country’s appetite for bold exploration.