Fifty years ago, Geoff Parker’s pioneering scholarship on “sperm competition” in insects was broadly overlooked. Since those days, hundreds of studies in many animals have confirmed the importance of what he discovered while watching flies mate around cow pats.

Arsenic-poisoned water remains a threat to public health the world over. Scientists hope to change that.

Think before you swat: The much-maligned fly could be the key to ensuring future supplies of many of the world’s favorite foods

COMIC: Covid-19 has inspired a rethink of how we design and use our built environments

OPINION: The pandemic has taught us how we can deliver better care to patients who seek to terminate pregnancies. Now if only science could triumph over politics.

COMIC: As it spreads throughout the world, the virus that causes Covid-19 has been changing. Scientists are tracking those changes, hoping to stay one step ahead of worrisome strains.

OPINION: Sea levels rising and falling over hundreds of thousands of years helped build up these special islands

OPINION: The pandemic may be interfering with our fight against drug-resistant bacteria. Luckily, the same tactics can beat back both scourges.

Loud road and air traffic has been linked to a greater risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. Scientists are uncovering new details about how what you hear stresses the cardiovascular system.

Antibiotics abound, but virus-fighting drugs are harder to come by, and Covid-19 amply shows how much we need them. Fortunately, scientists are getting better at making and finding them.