Hard Science

David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian were awarded the highest honor in medicine for their research into how human bodies make sense of and respond to the outside world.

The development of the revolutionary gene-engineering tool CRISPR is a tale fit for the big screen.

Why should we rely on scientific conclusions even though they cannot be proven? A new essay offers compelling reasons.

Try this: It’s about 10 times the number of cups of water in all the oceans of Earth.

The unconventional method could help astronomers better track meteorites that fall during the daytime.

Shocked city dwellers who stared at it were blinded instantly, then the entire city caught fire.

With the huge growth in satellites, fears of a crowded sky are coming true.

Research from NASA reveals Mars’ spectacular volcanic past.

The atmosphere’s habitable zone is so small, several mountain ranges extend beyond it.

Asteroid Bennu is still far more likely to fly right by us than to make impact.

Water is vital for life. Luckily for spacefaring humans, the solar system is full of it.

How did the troughs form?

Researchers hypothesize that these exoplanets could support the development of alien life.

Scientists track down a puzzling early burst of oxygen on Earth.

A new model addresses a longstanding problem: where do quasars get the fuel they need to outshine entire galaxies?

A puzzling — and huge — break in the geological record finally might be explained.

We should not romanticize ancient Egyptian culture.

Let’s celebrate the progress, but put the cork back in the champagne bottle.

Galaxies can die if their star-making stuff is lost. But now it can find its way back.

Surrounding Earth is a powerful magnetic field created by swirling liquid iron in the planet’s core. Earth’s magnetic field may be nearly as old as the Earth itself – and […]

Yes, the magnetosphere is weakening. It does that from time to time.

Even the most unorthodox posthumous plans have their own historical, spiritual, and scientific significance.

Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York is the kind of film that makes you laugh and cry at the same time.

By digging deep, we could harness enough energy to power generations to come. But it involves fracking.

It does not matter if intelligent life exists elsewhere. We will never find each other.

This everyday electrical phenomenon had no widely accepted scientific explanation — perhaps, until now.

Betelgeuse, the tenth brightest star in the night sky, mysteriously dimmed last year. Now researchers know why.

Jupiter’s atmosphere is hotter than it should be, and now we know why.

Icebergs aren’t just a threat to unsinkable ships. Their ability to cause underwater landslides poses a danger to coastal cities.

For the first time, light that comes from behind a black hole has been spotted.