How many potentially habitable planets are there? We sincerely don’t know. One of the most compelling scientific goals humanity has set for itself is to find extraterrestrial life: biological activity originating […]
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Puerto Rico’s iconic telescope facilitated important scientific discoveries while inspiring young scientists and the public imagination.
The Google-owned company developed a system that can reliably predict the 3D shapes of proteins.
See the most detailed survey of the southern sky ever carried out using radio waves.
There’s more light than we can account for, and we’ve just measured it robustly for the first time. When we look out at the darkest night skies available on Earth, even […]
A new study shows our planet is much closer to the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s center than previously estimated.
What is human dignity? Here’s a primer, told through 200 years of great essays, lectures, and novels.
Apple sold its first iPod in 2001, and six years later it introduced the iPhone, which ushered in a new era of personal technology.
Exceptionally high-quality videos allow scientists to formally introduce a remarkable new comb jelly.
A biologist-reporter investigates his fungal namesake.
Every organization needs the capacity to generate disruptive ideas. No one can afford to stand still and pretend that past habits will guarantee future success. If your organization isn’t ready […]
The brightest object in the night sky, our Moon is an unmistakable sight. The brightest object in the night sky, our Moon is an unmistakable sight. The Moon, in a […]
A new MIT report proposes how humans should prepare for the age of automation and artificial intelligence.
The rites we give to the dead help us understand what it takes to go on living.
The unfamiliar landscape of America’s medical past is marked by bizarre incidents, forgotten breakthroughs and selfless sacrifice.
The Chumash people poked bits of psychoactive plants into cave ceilings next to their paintings.
They’re not just a theoretical prediction of quantum gravity. They should be detectable, too. The Universe, if you look at it closely and carefully enough, is fundamentally quantum in nature. […]
How to deal with “epistemic exhaustion.”
A strange object found in the desert has prompted worldwide speculation.
In our Universe, a left hand reflected in a mirror or pond appears to be a right hand. While most of the laws of nature are symmetric under reflections, obeying […]
Australian researchers figure out a new way to apply extreme pressure and squeeze out diamonds.
MRI scans show that hunger and loneliness cause cravings in the same area, which suggests socialization is a need.
Researchers document the first example of evolutionary changes in a plant in response to humans.
Researchers make the case for “deep evidential regression.”
With three colors and three anticolors, there aren’t actually nine gluons; only eight. One of the most puzzling features of the Universe is the strong nuclear force. Inside every proton or […]
Can passenger airships make a triumphantly ‘green’ comeback?
Vegans and vegetarians often have nutrient deficiencies and lower BMI, which can increase the risk of fractures.
Never made a turkey before? Don’t worry, science can help.
Often viewed as a theoretical, calculational tool only, the Lamb Shift proved their existence. If you spend enough time listening to theoretical physicists, it starts to sound like there are […]