topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

pittsburgh

atlanta

san-diego

charlotte

boulder

washington-dc

kansas-city

dallas

denver

detroit

des-moines

austin

boston

chicago

cleveland

columbus

houston

indianapolis

miami

nashville

new-orleans

nw-arkansas

philadelphia

phoenix

portland

richmond

salt-lake-city

san-antonio

san-francisco

seattle

tampa-bay

twin-cities

raleigh

huntsville

colorado-springs

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

National

Space

Axios Space

Before humans can settle off-Earth, scientists need to figure out how — or even whether — people can reproduce in space.

Why it matters: Powerful figures in the space industry like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have dreams of a future where millions of people live in space, which would naturally require a self-sustaining population of humans somewhere other than Earth. 

"It has been [more than] 20 years since the last systematic experiments on vertebrate reproduction and development in spaceflight," Gary Strangman, the scientific lead at the Translational Research Institute for Space Health, told me. 

"Yet we are now actively planning missions and building rockets to reach the Moon and Mars. Reproduction will almost certainly be relevant to a three-year mission to Mars. And we don’t want to discover serious adverse effects by accident."

What's happening: Scientists have sent a number of experiments to the International Space Station in recent years to try to answer various questions about what it might take for mammals, and eventually humans, to reproduce in space.

A study published in June found freeze-dried sperm from mice sent to the ISS weren't adversely impacted by the environment in low-Earth orbit, producing healthy pups back on Earth after its return.

An earlier Russian experiment sent male and female rats to orbit, allowing them to breed. Two of the female rats became pregnant, but neither resulted in a live birth.

Yes, but: More in-depth studies are needed in order to figure out just what it would take for humans and other species to have babies off-Earth, and some scientists say there hasn't been enough attention paid to funding and performing these types of studies.

"There's always been a bigger problem to solve," Virginia Wotring, a professor at the International Space University, told me. The focus instead has been on the technology needed to get to orbit, life support and funding for deep space efforts.

"The risks of spaceflight are (reasonably) well-understood, but the consequences of those risks on conception, pregnancy, birth and development are barely understood at all — in any species, but particularly in mammals, and even more so in humans," Strangman said via email.

Women have been historically underrepresented among astronauts, making it harder to study how important parts of reproduction like birth control, menstruation and ovulation may work.

The big question: What are the major factors that could limit how and whether humans can have healthy babies in space? 

Mouse sperm and embryos haven't been adversely impacted by the radiation environment on the ISS, but as humans push to farther-afield destinations like Mars, that could change as the radiation environment gets worse. 

Gravity may also be important in physically arranging the cells in an embryo. Researchers are now analyzing an experiment on the space station where astronauts cultured frozen mouse embryos to see if they needed gravity to develop. (The results of that research haven't yet been made available.)

But it could be even more simple: Mammals are sensitive to stress, making it difficult to mate even on the ground, Teruhiko Wakayama, a researcher focusing on reproduction in space, told me.

The ethical issues surrounding studies of human reproduction also limit experiments in space, according to Strangman.

What's next: A number of studies being proposed in the coming years could help answer those outstanding questions around reproduction in space. 

Wakayama and his research team are hoping to send freeze-dried sperm to the Gateway, a planned facility that would orbit the Moon, to understand how it fares in a more radiation-intense environment. 

Another proposed experiment, which likely still has decades to go before launch, would send tardigrades — microscopic extremophiles that are hardened to the space environment — and nematodes on an interstellar journey to see how they behave, including how they might reproduce far from Earth.

Editor's note: This story originally published on Jan. 25.

It's time to take reproduction in space seriously

Researchers say that more science is needed on how humans and other mammals can reproduce in space

Illustration of a stork carrying a baby bundle and wearing an astronaut helmet. The helmet has a small hole in the visor for the stork's beak to fit through.

International Space Station

Science

Vitals

Axios Vitals

The ranks of health care workers are dwindling and stretching what it means to be reaching their "breaking points," particularly at small nonprofit hospitals.

The big picture: Even as Omicron cases have begun to wane in some places, many hospitals are still fielding a crush of patients amid record employee callouts.

Yes, but: There's also a growing amount of frustration, burnout and compassion fatigue straining the workforce, the New York Times wrote over the weekend.

"Frontline medical workers in the U.S. are angry — at the patients who refuse to get vaccinated and at the political leaders who call them 'health care heroes' while opposing mask and vaccine mandates," per the Times.

What they're saying: "The pandemic has laid bare the myriad inefficiencies and frank failures in our health-care system that we had managed to paper over until a real crisis came along," Megan Ranney, academic dean at the Brown University School of Public Health, wrote in the Washington Post.

"We have served as the safety net for a broken system. But with the serial surges of COVID, we simply can't do it anymore," she wrote.

Editor's note: This story originally published on Jan. 24. 

Health care workers hit new breaking point

Even as Omicron cases begin to wane, hospitals are fielding a crush of patients amid record employee callouts.

Illustration of a stethoscope wrapped around a doctor's torso.

Hospitals

The U.S. health system faces critical questions about cost, access and equity. Technological advances and new discoveries about diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s are transforming patient care and reshaping public health.

Health

Media Trends

Axios Media Trends

Average social media interactions on news articles about select politicians

Data: NewsWhip; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

New data finds that the nation's most polarizing politicians are often the ones that garner the most attention online.

Why it matters: Online engagement helps politicians build a bigger national profile and more fundraising power, incentivizing them to be more outrageous, more polarizing and more divisive.

By the numbers: Topping the list are lightning rods from each party — politicians who fire up their base while providing ammunition for the other party — according to exclusive data from NewsWhip.

Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez generate the most social media interactions per article, an indicator of how much the internet lights up in response to their name.

The most impactful news makers aren't necessarily the buzziest. President Biden ranks lowest on interactions per article among 23 well-known, active politicians Axios analyzed — above only Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema — who stood in the way of Biden's $2 trillion spending plan and became villains of the left — are also at the bottom of the list, just above the president.

Between the lines: The politicians who drive the highest average interactions are often more talked-about by their critics than their fans.

Nine of the 10 stories about Ocasio-Cortez from the last year were from right-wing outlets. Just two of the top stories about Rep. Taylor Greene were from such outlets, per NewsWhip data.

The big picture: The data supports a broader trend of American politics becoming a breeding ground for more extreme politicians to run — and sometimes win — elections. 

Editor's note: This story was first published on Jan. 25.

America can't quit polarizing politicians

Rhetoric and conflict are superseding policy and substance.

Social media

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

Washington, D.C., police have arrested a suspect allegedly connected to drawings of swastikas that appeared etched around the entrance to Union Station in Washington, D.C., on Friday morning. 

The latest: Police arrested and charged Geraldo Pando, 34, with "display of certain emblems and defacing private/public property."

Police said Pando allegedly spray-painted swastikas around 12:45 a.m. Friday morning. Pando later allegedly vandalized three other buildings. 

Driving the news: "An investigation is underway with Amtrak Police and the Metropolitan Police Department after swastikas were reported on the exterior of Washington Union Station on Friday," Amtrak spokesperson Kimberly Woods said in a statement to Axios. 

"Amtrak strongly condemns this act of hatred and will work with our landlord, USRC and their lessor to remove these symbols as quickly as possible" 

The big picture: The vandalism came one day after International Holocaust Remembrance Day, when President Biden cautioned against ignoring history and warned against a "resurgence of antisemitism."

What they're saying: "The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington strongly condemns the antisemitic vandalism found today right here in our nation’s capital at Union Station," the group wrote in a statement. 

"To find such a symbol of hate at the entrance to Union Station is unacceptable and is not just an affront to Jews, but to all Americans. Swastikas are a chilling symbol of Nazi hatred and have no place in our society."

"Sickening. Yesterday was Holocaust Remembrance Day," Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) wrote on Twitter.  "My staff just sent me this video of Union Station defaced with swastikas. Anti-Semitism is real and we cannot tolerate it. I am contacting the local authorities."

Go deeper: Biden cautions against "resurgence of antisemitism" on Holocaust Remembrance Day

Editor's note: This story has been updated with details of the arrest. 

Washington D.C.

blue

Get smarter, faster on what matters in D.C. with Mimi Montgomery, Cuneyt Dil, and Anna Spiegel.

Axios D.C.

Standard

Axios D.C. Partners

Axios D.C. Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

A guide to fun things to do in D.C. this weekend.

Axios D.C. Weekender

Weekender

D.C. Alerts

Alert

Washington, DC Members

Membership

D.C. police arrest suspect after swastika graffiti found at Union Station

Amtrak police officers are working with the Metropolitan Police Department to investigate.

Dozens of swastikas and anti-Obama slogans, most of them covered up by workers, were drawn on pillars around the exterior of Union Station in Washington on Friday, Januarey 28, 2022. 

Dozens of swastikas and anti-Obama slogans, most of them covered up by workers, were drawn on pillars around the exterior of Union Station in Washington on Friday. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Anti-semitism

Corruption Perception Index, 2021

Data: Transparency International; Map: Jared Whalen/Axios

The most corrupt governments in the world are in South Sudan, Syria and Somalia, according to Transparency International's annual index, while the "cleanest" are in Denmark, Finland and New Zealand.

Breaking it down: The U.S. is 27th, China 66th, India 85th, Brazil 96th and Russia 136th. Scroll over the map to see each country's ranking.

Details: The index is based on the perceptions of corruption in each country from experts and businesspeople.  

Editor's note: This story originally published on Jan. 27.

Mapped: The world's most and least corrupt countries

Denmark leads the way, the U.S. lags behind.

Corruption

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

World

Jobs offering a four-day work week

The four-day work week is nowhere close to becoming the norm, despite a flurry of corporate announcements, media coverage and intense interest from worker bees worldwide.

Why it matters: With the pandemic throwing work-family dynamics into chaos and a labor market favoring workers, there's demand for this. 

The needle isn’t moving on four-day workweeks

The four-day work week isn’t coming to save us

Axios

Saturday's top stories

It's time to take reproduction in space seriously

Health care workers hit new breaking point

America can't quit polarizing politicians

D.C. police arrest suspect after swastika graffiti found at Union Station

Mapped: The world's most and least corrupt countries

The needle isn’t moving on four-day workweeks

Hybrid work now dominates the knowledge economy

Rents hit all-time high

A pandemic victim: Ethical supply chains

Public schools staffing is on the brink of collapse

Tipping has soared during the pandemic

Bomb cyclone prompts blizzard warnings from Virginia to Maine