Science and Tech

Science and Tech

a large machine
The robot can drive heavy steal beams into the ground at a rate of 1 per 73 seconds, which will help expedite solar farm construction.
A child standing in front of a wall of jellyfish.
Despite a reputation for catastrophe and cat killings, curiosity is a beneficial drive that improves our lives and well-being.
a diagram of the energy storage system.
Old coal mines can be converted into "gravity batteries" by retrofitting them with equipment that raises and lowers giant piles of sand.
stellar remnants black holes planet
The odds are slim, but the consequences would be literally world-ending. There really is a chance of a black hole devouring the Earth.
A diagram showing the structure of an electroweak big bang.
The problem of the electroweak horizon haunts the standard model of cosmology and beckons us to ask how deep a rethink the model may need.
a computer generated image of a balloon and a plant.
We have become the greatest threat to ourselves and to life on this planet. We need a set of agreed-upon safeguards to preserve our future.
life beyond earth
Back in 1990, we hadn't discovered a single planet outside of our Solar System. Here are 10 facts that would've surprised every astronomer.
composite JWST ALMA HST Fomalhaut
The nearby, bright star Fomalhaut had the first optically imaged planetary candidate. Using JWST's eyes, astronomers found so much more.
a robot hand holding a magnifying glass.
A panel of healthcare professionals much preferred responses that came from the chatbot in a recent study.
A pair of scissors appears to cut through a black and white illustration of a DNA double helix.
4mins
Forget AI. Gene editing is still our most powerful — and dangerous — technology.
four exoplanets super-earth mini-neptune
They're the most common type of exoplanet known today, and many astronomers have called them "super-habitable." None of that is true.
a painting of a couple of zebras on a blue background.
The discovery has enormous implications for the development of novel anti-anxiety medications.
a close up of a statue
As the stream of AI-generated art turns into a deluge, NFTs could become a cornerstone of the Virtual Renaissance.
perseverance ingenuity mars
Mars, the red planet, was a world we knew almost nothing about until our first spacecraft visited it. In just ~50 years, how far we've come!
a multicolored image of a cell phone.
Rapamycin is potentially the most powerful anti-aging drug ever discovered. However, due to its unlucky history, few know of it.
A colorful bar graph highlighting the crisis in cosmology.
The standard model of cosmology has a big new problem: Some galaxies seem to be too old.
alpha centauri
This oddball system of three stars might be our best chance at finding nearby life in the Universe.
a man opening his mouth to see a slice of pizza.
Our bodies crave more food if we haven’t had enough protein, and this can lead to a vicious cycle.
an image of a star burst in the sky.
What began as an annoyance ended as a Nobel Prize-winning discovery about the Big Bang and the origin of the Universe.
a collage of a woman sleeping on a pillow next to a bowl of food.
More than a third of Americans don’t get enough sleep. Diet is an important, under-recognized culprit.
sun red giant swallow planet
Many planets will eventually be devoured by their parent star. For the first time, we caught a star in the act, eating its innermost planet!
a map of europe showing the percentage of people in each country.
The average age of cannabis users is increasing. Weed may fall out of fashion before it becomes legal everywhere.
a collage of photos with a whale tail.
Nobody knows where the word "penguin" comes from.
a painting of an egyptian vase with egyptian symbols on it.
To protect yourself, you need an antifungal rather than an amulet.
universe expand energy
The conservation of energy is one of the most fundamental laws governing our reality. But in the expanding Universe, that's just not true.
a row of wind turbines against a blue sky.
Wind farms seem less productive when scientists incorporate more realistic atmospheric models into their output predictions.
a man in a space suit with a camera in his hand.
It's not about fairness. It's about using every possible advantage.
jwst background galaxies
These high-mass, rapidly star-forming galaxies have called modern cosmology into question. But hi-res simulations show no tension at all.
an older woman with glasses is covering her face.
Neuroscientists hope to learn more in the hope of finding a way to reverse dementia.