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Sometimes called “the new gold,” sand is the second most exploited natural resource in the world after fresh water.

Scientists have discovered enzymes from several plastic-eating bacteria. So, why are our oceans still full of plastic pollution?

There were many similarities, but also some profound differences.

Within the next few decades, we may well have hard evidence for the existence of alien life on worlds light-years distant from Earth.

Scalars, vectors, and tensors come up all the time in physics. They’re more than mathematical structures. They help describe the Universe.

Life may have arisen far earlier — and more rapidly — than previously thought.

The TRAPPIST-1 system is a treasure trove of possibilities and questions. Observations by JWST have just begun.

One possible vision of the distant future.

Popular media often frame scientists as having a cold, sterile view of the world. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Trojan War was fought in Finland and Ulysses sailed home to Denmark, says one controversial theory.

See the 3 biggest space stories from October 16-22, 2023.

“I grew up in New Jersey in the 1970s and that experience gave me everything I needed to become a skeptic.”

The new material may make marine uranium extraction economically feasible.

Hawaii is the most isolated volcanic hot spot on Earth, far away from any plate boundary.

This new geologic activity could be part of a thousand-year cycle, ushering in a new era of volcanism on the island.

The 557-million-year-old specimen challenges the theory that animal body plans were laid out in the Cambrian explosion.

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

As the Sun ages, it loses mass, causing Earth to spiral outward in its orbit. Will that cool the Earth down, or will other effects win out?

“I want to change the way we think about the past altogether,” says Dr. Betül Kaçar, an astrobiologist who studies the origin of life.

Musical preferences are correlated with personality traits — and these connections are largely consistent across cultures and continents.

Many of us look at black holes as cosmic vacuum cleaners: sucking in everything in their vicinity. But it turns out they don’t suck at all.

How choosing Stoic acceptance — not dour resignation — galvanized great leaders from Thomas Edison to Phil Jackson and Tony Hawk.

Architecture in the age of AI — argues professor Nayef Al-Rodhan — should embed philosophical inquiry in its transdisciplinary toolkit.

Each of our three nearest stars might have an Earth-like planet in orbit around it. Here’s what we’ll learn when we finally observe it.

The natural wonders of Mauritius include the spectacular sight of an underwater waterfall. Here’s the science of how it works.

A scientist’s first-hand account shows the world can tackle a global environmental crisis.

It would get rid of our hazardous, radioactive, and pollutive waste for good, but physics tells us it’s a losing strategy for elimination.

The world is facing many crises, and we should look to natural interdependence and ancient wisdom as we explore science for solutions.

NASA is creating a planet habitability index, and Earth may not be at the top. With our current data, ranking habitability is guesswork.

Ancient helium-3 from the dawn of time leaks from the Earth, offering clues to our planet’s formation. A key question is where it leaks from.