Science and Tech

Science and Tech

An image of the earth with a mountain in the background, showcasing terraforming potential.
Whenever someone waxes poetic about terraforming alien worlds, it’s worth taking a moment to consider the ethical implications of the proposal.
A map with a circle and a circle in the middle.
The $21.5-billion project could involve tunneling hundreds of feet under Lake Geneva.
Einstein field equations
Although many of Einstein's papers revolutionized physics, there's one Einsteinian advance, generally, that towers over all the rest.
A black and white image of a black and white image of a black and white image of a black and white image of a.
We don’t yet know if these strange “obelisks” are helpful or harmful.
A person holding a gold trophy under a cloudy sky.
An MIT study finds the brains of children who grow up in less affluent households are less responsive to rewarding experiences.
Nasa's curiosity rover on mars.
The case for why NASA should pivot to searching for current — not ancient — signs of life.
A group of people standing in a circle.
Human civilization has always survived periods of change. Will our rapidly evolving technological era be an exception to the rule?
The discovery suggests that the "Boring Billion" period of evolution on Earth wasn't so boring after all.
An image of an EV car with a map on it.
A $30,000 electric vehicle with 400 miles of range that charges in under 10 minutes remains a pipe dream over the near future.
An abstract composite image depicting where life began with mountainous terrain, chemical structures, and a monochrome inset of a cloudy sky.
Although early Earth was a molten hellscape, once it cooled, life arose almost immediately. That original chain of life remains unbroken.
A digitally enhanced view of a crescent planet Earth with a galaxy in the background.
The Earth that exists today wasn't formed simultaneously with the Sun and the other planets. In some ways, we're quite a latecomer.
An image of a spiral galaxy in space.
In 1924, Edwin Hubble found proof that the Milky Way isn't the only galaxy in the Universe.
A colorful village sits on the shore of a body of water.
Scientists are working to map out the risks of the permafrost thaw, which could expose millions of people to the invisible cancer-causing gas.
A black and white image of a large circular object.
Recent measurements of CERN data seem to disagree with standard-model predictions about how the Higgs boson decays, though further analysis is needed to confirm the observations.
A diagram showing the structure of a galaxy.
The Universe didn't begin with a bang, but with an inflationary "whoosh" that came before. Here are the biggest questions that still remain.
An older man with glasses and a beard posing for a picture.
In "Dear Oliver," neuroscientist Susan Barry describes how her 10-year correspondence with Oliver Sacks unleashed her inner author.
A view of jupiter from space.
NASA's Juno mission, in orbit around Jupiter, occasionally flies past its innermost large moon: Io. The volcanic activity is unbelievable.
A person holding a small key in their hand.
The brain-computer interface will be tested in a six-year trial in patients with quadriplegia.
A bright light in the sky.
As planets with too many volatiles and too little mass orbit their parent stars, their atmospheres photoevaporate, spelling doom for some.
Tesla in a suit sitting in a chair.
"She understood me and I understood her. I loved that pigeon.”
Two pictures of a drone flying in the sky with a laser.
The futuristic weapon could be ready for the battlefield in 5 years.
A tunnel is being constructed in a tunnel.
The DUNE project will beam tiny neutrinos across vast distances. But the first step involved moving a heavier material: 1 million tons of rock.
A man with a beard is standing in front of a screen.
Big Think columnist Adam Frank makes the case for why the 2023 video game Alan Wake 2 is a boundary-pushing piece of art.
wormhole nasa illustration
Without wormholes, warp drive, or some type of new matter, energy, or physics, everyone is limited by the speed of light. Or are they?
An AI-generated illustration of a man sitting at a desk, accompanied by thought-provoking poetry.
Cognitive psychologist and poet Keith Holyoak explores whether artificial intelligence could ever achieve poetic authenticity.
A computer-generated image of a bright celestial object with an accretion disk, possibly representing what the sun looked like when it was born.
It took 9.2 billion years of cosmic evolution before our Sun and Solar System even began to form. Such a small event has led to so much.
A diverse array of objects hanging from a blue background, fostering innovation.
A more diverse workforce will produce better solutions in fast-changing markets.
Composition of the dark energy prominence universe showing percentages of dark energy, dark matter, and visible matter.
Early on, only matter and radiation were important for the expanding Universe. After a few billion years, dark energy changed everything.
A machine is moving down a conveyor belt in a warehouse.
Britain is profiling the genes, health and lifestyles of its citizens and handing the results to scientists across the world.