Science and Tech

Science and Tech

From life on Earth to the planet itself, there are four ways our planet will actually experience "the end," no matter how we define it.
astrology to astronomy
From the tablets of the Babylonians to the telescopes of modern science, humans have always looked to the skies for fundamental answers.
javelin missiles
Javelin missiles have been an effective force multiplier, the latter-day equivalent of the sling that David used against Goliath.
Galactic archaeology has uncovered a spectacular find: the Milky Way already existed more than 13 billion years ago.
chimpanzees
Chimpanzees are able to consider the context of social interactions and can accept unfavorable outcomes — sometimes.
alien life
Multiple lines of evidence — physical, chemical, and biological — must converge for scientists to conclude that alien life has been found.
The way that the ancient Megalodon adapted to water temperature has important implications for modern marine creatures.
every square degree
Even a tiny sliver of the Universe can reveal the cosmic story of what's out there and how it came to be the way it is today.
michio kaku
Michio Kaku predicts, among other things, how we'll build cities on Mars and why cancer will one day be like the common cold.
joro spider
Can a non-native species be a friend instead of a foe?
Understanding the factors behind recent growth could help us better approach inequality.
dizzy standing
Scientists find two 30-second techniques that prevent dizziness upon standing.
null island
Where the prime meridian meets the equator, a non-existent island captures our imagination — and our non-geocoded data.
The closest star system to Earth, just over 4 light-years away, has three stars and at least one Earth-sized planet. Is it time to go there?
"I was part of the surgical team that conducted the first pig-to-human heart transplant in a living patient."
cosmic dark ages
The James Webb Space Telescope could help scientists learn about the cosmic dark ages and how they ended.
learned helplessness
Helplessness isn't learned — it's an instinctual response that can be overcome.
round
In 1990, we only knew of the planets in our own Solar System. Today, the exoplanet count is more than 5000. Here's what we've learned.
Every year, scientists like George Church get better at editing the genomes of human beings. But will genome editing help or hurt us?
Salk scientists studied complex decision-making capabilities in a worm with just 302 neurons and a mouth full of teeth. It's smarter than you would think.
irish shipwrecks
We have a morbid curiosity about nautical disaster stories. The Irish "Wreck Viewer" offers a window into centuries of marine misfortune.
coldest place in the universe
Empty, intergalactic space is just 2.725 K: not even three degrees above absolute zero. But the Boomerang Nebula is even colder.
northern white rhino
Scientists at the San Diego Zoo are on a mission to resurrect the extinct northern white rhino.
james webb spikes
When we started imaging the Universe with Hubble, every star had four "spikes" coming from it. Here's why Webb will have more.
Head direction cells act like internal compasses to help the birds navigate during long flights.
Forty Starlink satellites were destroyed earlier this year in a geomagnetic storm.