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What’s the truth about one of history’s most mythologized order of knights?

The concept of non-action might just be the most powerful action to take for curbing anxiety.

NGC 1052-DF2 was said to ‘defy theory,’ incorrectly, by many. Here’s what our current theories actually predict. Last week, astronomers announced the discovery of NGC 1052-DF2: a galaxy without dark matter. […]

‘Luck’ is the wrong word. The Universe cooperated, but we gave ourselves the opportunity by being prepared. It was already 28 years ago that the Hubble Space Telescope was launched […]

A new study find a connection between having more testosterone and not liking classical, jazz, or avant-garde music. 

It took the Universe 9.2 billion years to create the Earth, and another 4 billion for complex life. Could we have gotten there faster? The story of how the Universe came […]

Unless you can make a force that travels faster than the speed of light, a singularity is inevitable. The more mass you place into a small volume of space, the […]

We’ve all heard the number: 4.5 billion years. But how do we know, and how certain are we that the Earth and Sun are the same age? Billions of years ago, […]

The government decides the risk of research into dangerous viruses is worth the reward.

The answer has nothing at all to do with the Higgs boson. In this Universe, there are very few fundamental properties that cannot be derived from something simpler. The rules governing […]

They’re the fastest rotators of all. So how distorted are they? There are very few objects in the Universe that stand still; almost everything we know of rotates in some way. […]

“Nice and in control: the twin peaks of a good reputation…But since we are riddled with contradiction, this is not a simple story.”

For every planet that orbits a star like our own, there are likely thousands of ‘orphan planets’ wandering the galaxy alone. Here in the Solar System, we can watch our star’s […]

One of astronomy’s most iconic sights in an artifact of faulty optics. Here’s how a new, great design will overcome it. When you look out at the greatest images of the […]

It’s fascinating how an octopus’s skin does this and how these scientists recreated it.

Here’s the number one factor for whether an organization is a success or a failure.

One of cosmic inflation’s cofounders came out against it, calling it not even science. But it is… and so much more. “There’s no obvious reason to assume that the very same […]

Sponsored by the Charles Koch Foundation

Stanford professor Robert Sutton offers a slew of suggestions for how to break up negative vibes in the office.

It isn’t just supernovae or merging neutron stars. In fact, it’s the quietest way of all! “N6946-BH1 is the only likely failed supernova that we found in the first seven years […]

If you thought all we could see is all that’s out there, prepare to rethink everything you knew. “It’s hard to build models of inflation that don’t lead to a multiverse. […]

Are we about to make a breakthrough to go beyond black holes? Here’s what it means if we do! “It’s becoming clear that in a sense the cosmos provides the only […]

Biologists discover biofilms cooperating to share food.

For the first time, we’ve seen neutron stars merge. At last, the gravitational and electromagnetic sky are one. “It’s becoming clear that in a sense the cosmos provides the only laboratory […]

Either possibility offers a tremendous existence, but philosophically, there’s so much more to think about. “If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, […]

It might surprise you that the majority of items in American supermarkets are owned by about 10 companies.

Can big data help determine how happy we are? Using findings from Facebook and UC Berkeley, author Andrew Zolli shows how the levels of happiness we display online may not correlate with how happy we truly are. Featuring Zolli’s talk from the Aspen Ideas Festival.    

How to turn a galaxy on, once and for all. “Speculating and predicting what lies beyond the boundary is fascinating. Finding out is even more fascinating.” –Wallace H. Tucker When two […]

One of inflation’s co-founders lashes out against the community. But is there a scientific leg to stand on? “…an understanding of the infinite tree of universes seems to be needed in […]

Can robots tell stories? In a way, yes. We’re far more likely to see robot nursery rhymes than a robot Shakespeare.