The Well The invisible math that controls the world This network physicist is mapping the world's most significant data to create the most beautiful visualizations of information we have ever seen. ▸ 7 min — with Albert-László Barabási
Starts With A Bang Ask Ethan: Why can’t dark matter be made of light? There's an extra source of massive "stuff" in our Universe beyond what gravitation and normal matter can explain. Could light be the answer?
Starts With A Bang Yes, the Universe really is 100% reductionist in nature The whole isn't greater than the sum of its parts; that's a flaw in our thinking. Non-reductionism requires magic, not merely science.
Life Jellyfish surprise scientists by learning without a brain Lab experiments showed Caribbean box jellyfish are quick studies of their environment.
Starts With A Bang Ask Ethan: Do my atoms really “touch” each other? When you bring two fingers together, you can feel them "touch" each other. But are your atoms really touching, and if so, how?
Nick Bostrom on the birth of superintelligence “All the plausible paths to a really great future, involve the development of machine superintelligence at some point.” ▸ 5 min — with Nick Bostrom
Health Unexpected protein found in diseased brains Protein fibrils accumulate in the brain during neurodegeneration. Cryo-electron microscopy has now uncovered fibrils of an unexpected protein.
Health How a Harvard AI model could make COVID the last pandemic Artificial intelligence can forecast the behavior of viruses and quickly make vaccines to thwart them.
Starts With A Bang Ask Ethan: Do JWST’s results contradict the Big Bang? JWST has brought us more distant views of the early Universe than ever before. Is the Big Bang, and all of modern cosmology, in trouble?
Starts With A Bang The Al Naslaa rock formation is Earth’s most bizarre geological feature In the Saudi Arabian desert, the Al Naslaa rock formation looks completely unnatural. Its perfectly vertical split remains a mystery.
Neuropsych You can live just fine with half a brain Children who have a brain hemisphere removed — a procedure known as hemispherectomy — behave completely normally.
13.8 The two roads to quantum gravity How are we to deal with the quantization of spacetime and gravity?
Starts With A Bang Ask Ethan: How did the Universe truly begin? If you said "with the Big Bang," congratulations: that was our best answer as of ~1979. Here's what we've learned in all the time since.
The Future How do floating wind turbines work? Once water gets more than about 200 feet deep, building on the sea floor is out of the question.
Hard Science A surprise new “theory of everything” involves the symmetry between order and disorder There may be a symmetrical interdependence between order and chaos.
Starts With A Bang Spacetime: is it real and physical, or just a calculational tool? Einstein's relativity overthrew the notion of absolute space and time, replacing them with a spacetime fabric. But is spacetime truly real?
Business 5 “belonging rules” to help the “moveable middle” thrive Every organization has a power block of dutiful but unappreciated talent. Here’s an effective plan for engagement.
Neuropsych Scientists discover a previously unknown part of the brain The "subarachnoidal lymphatic-like membrane" helps shield and protect the brain.
The Future Paper-thin solar cell can turn any surface into a power source Some solar cells are so lightweight they can sit on a soap bubble.
Starts With A Bang Laniakea, our local supercluster, is being destroyed by dark energy On the largest scales, galaxies don't simply clump together, but form superclusters. Too bad they don't remain bound together.
Starts With A Bang Ask Ethan: Why does nature obey laws at all? No matter what physical system we consider, nature always obeys the same fundamental laws. Must it be this way, and if so, why?
The Present The top 10 science stories of 2022 2022 was another busy year in the realm of science, with groundbreaking stories spanning space, materials, medicine, and technology.
Neuropsych The dark side of neuroplasticity Long thought incapable of regenerating, we now know that brain cells can grow and reorganize. That, it turns out, is a mixed blessing.
Hard Science The long-awaited mission that could transform our understanding of Mars A next-generation instrument on a delayed rover may be the key to answering the question of life on Mars.
Starts With A Bang The Largest Structures In The Universe May Not Actually Exist Which is good, because if they do, they violate the cosmological principle. In theory, the Universe should be the same, on average, everywhere. A simulation of the large-scale structure of […]
Starts With A Bang True or false: Does gravitational lensing reveal dark matter’s nature? The best evidence for dark matter is astrophysical and indirect. Do new lensing observations point to ultra-light, wave-like dark matter?
Starts With A Bang Starts With A Bang Podcast #94 – Dark energy and cosmic growth In a far-reaching discovery with astrophysicist Karolina Garcia, we discuss what's in the Universe and how it grew up.
The Well What if we could predict—and cure—all diseases? This network scientist is creating a map of the human genome, and it could revolutionize the future of healthcare. ▸ 6 min — with Albert-László Barabási