The Aral Sea used to be the fourth-largest lake in the world, but thanks to poor water management, the lake rapidly shrank over only a handful of decades—from larger than the entire state of West Virginia to only 10 percent … Read more

UNC religious studies professor and archaeologist Jodi Magness discusses one of the most important archaeological discoveries, the Dead Sea Scrolls, in the podcast, The Ancients. Listen to part 1 here. Listen to part 2 here.  

Previously unknown types of toxic chemicals known as PFAS have been discovered in the Cape Fear River. Researchers at the UNC-Chapel Hill used samples from the Cape Fear River collected in 2016. Using a new detection method, researchers tested the … Read more

North Carolina was just announced as the benefactor of a $1 billion federal grant to fund construction of a high-speed rail line from Raleigh to Richmond. What could that project mean for the state? Matthew Palm of the City and … Read more

Drones flying along miles of rivers in the steep, mountainous terrain of central Taiwan and mapping the rock properties have revealed new clues about how water helps shape mountains over geological time, according to a team led by Penn State … Read more

Anyone who has suspected that there are more women than men where they live, or vice versa, will find fodder for their suspicions in new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. … Adding to the imbalance are the effects of … Read more

Three new books describe far-flung societies — from the Native tribes of North America to the caliphates of Eurasia — that have made war and sustained their conquests. UNC historian Wayne Lee’s new book, Indigenous Warfare in Eastern North America, … Read more

On the fourth floor of UNC’s Hillsborough Hospital, there’s a rehab gym. ,,, Recently, this treehouse has gone high tech with a new room, called the “makerspace.” It’s about the size of a dorm room, and its walls are lined … Read more

Sara Toups was 44 – old enough, she figured, that any chance of pregnancy was long behind her. … A growing share of Americans are opting to start parenthood later in life, having their first children in their late 20s, … Read more

In a lively and far-ranging conversation Tuesday at the United Nations COP28 climate talks in Dubai, Newsweek‘s Better Planet guided discussion about a more climate-friendly economy in an event titled “Pillars of the Green Transition.” … Angel Hsu is an … Read more