Nell Greenfieldboyce

Wade Hanicker poses for a portrait at his home in Brooksville, Fla., on March 23. Hanicker was diagnosed with silicosis after years of cutting quartz countertops.

Thousands of U.S. countertop workers could have damaged lungs, safety expert says

Over 550 men in California have fallen ill after cutting natural or factory-made stone countertops. But epidemiologists say this isn't just a California problem.

A Devils Hole pupfish is pictured at the Ash Meadows Fish Conservation Facility in Nevada. Scientists recently took captive-bred pupfish from this facility and introduced them into the species' natural habitat in Death Valley National Park.

As federal scientists faced turmoil, the Devils Hole pupfish reached a crisis point

Nell Greenfieldboyce

The Devils hole pupfish lives in just one spot in Death Valley. Wildlife officials have managed this iconic fish for decades, and last spring, just as the Trump administration was laying off all kinds of scientists, the wild population of this fish plummeted to only 20 individuals. Officials then took an irrevocable step.

Pioneering geneticist J. Craig Venter has died at the age of 79, according to his namesake research institute.

Craig Venter, pioneering human genome decoder, dies at 79

Nell Greenfieldboyce

Pioneering scientist J. Craig Venter has died at 79. His "whole genome shotgun method" helped genome sequencing become faster and cheaper.

In a photo provided by NASA, a view of Earth from NASA's Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II test flight Thursday. The crew completed a key burn, sending the capsule speeding to the moon for a lunar flyby.

NASA's Artemis II has left Earth's orbit, and 4 astronauts now head to the moon

Nell Greenfieldboyce

With the last major firing of its engine, the Artemis II spacecraft is now on a path that will take it around the moon and back.

Liftoff! NASA astronauts have launched on a historic journey to the moon

Amina Khan, Nell Greenfieldboyce

NASA's Artemis II mission lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. Eastern Wednesday. The mission aims to send four astronauts around the moon on a roughly 10-day journey.

NASA is just days away from historic Artemis II moon launch

Nell Greenfieldboyce

On Wednesday, the crew of NASA's Artemis II could blast off on a mission around the moon and back. No astronaut has ventured out to the moon since the 1970s.

NASA eyes March 6 to launch 4 astronauts to the moon on Artemis II mission

Nell Greenfieldboyce

The four astronauts heading to the moon for the lunar fly-by are the first humans to venture there since 1972. The ten-day mission will travel more than 600,000 miles.

Baby chicks link certain sounds with shapes, just like humans do

Nell Greenfieldboyce

A surprising new study shows that baby chickens react the same way that humans do when tested for something called the "bouba-kiki effect," which has been linked to the emergence of language.

Have astronomers witnessed the birth of a black hole?

Nell Greenfieldboyce

A massive star in the nearby Andromeda galaxy has simply disappeared. Some astronomers believe that it's collapsed in on itself and formed a black hole.

Kitchen countertop workers are dying. Some lawmakers want to ban their lawsuits

Nell Greenfieldboyce

Some safety experts want California to stop the cutting of quartz countertops saying it can't be done safely. Lawmakers, meanwhile, contemplate a ban on workers' lawsuits against quartz manufacturers.