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The Sneaky Force Behind Our Sun’s Violent Outbursts
A strange discovery from flying close to the sun.
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Alan Turing and the Power of Negative Thinking
Mathematical proofs based on a technique called diagonalization can be relentlessly contrarian, but they help reveal the limits of algorithms.
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Seahorse Love Works in Mysterious Ways
Seahorses don’t care if there’s plenty other fish in the sea.
The Porthole
Short sharp looks at science
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Where the Wild Bees Are
San Diego is a biodiversity hotspot for bees. Researchers need help documenting them.
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Pandas Feel “SAD” Too
Many animals suffer from seasonal affective disorder. Scientists are just figuring out what that means.
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What Will Justice for Climate Change Culprits Look Like?
A new novel grapples with vengeance toward global warming’s worst offenders.
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The Faulty Weathermen of the Mind
Could a theory from the science of perception help crack the mysteries of psychosis?
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The Psychopathic Path to Success
Turns out there can be a positive side to the psychopathic traits that may lurk inside all of us.
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Why Ships Kill Thousands of Whales Every Year
An interview with the documentary filmmaker who has spotlighted the deadly ocean collisions.
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Why Are Marine Mammals Losing Their Hair?
Spikes in alopecia puzzle scientists—and may be a symptom of ecological disruption.
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The Secret Life of Deep Sea Vents
An expedition to find rare hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the Mid-Atlantic uncovers new worlds—and some daredevil shrimp.
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Salt Taste Is Surprisingly Mysterious
Too much sodium is bad, but so is too little—no wonder the body has two sensing mechanisms.
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Can We Stop Time in the Body?
Inside the “out there” quest for a drug that would help doctors save lives before it’s too late.
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Have We Gotten Dark Matter All Wrong?
Physicists have yet to pinpoint the hypothetical matter that keeps galaxies from flying apart. Now they have a new focus.
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The Day Oppenheimer Feared He Might Blow Up the World
The story behind the scare that an atomic bomb would ignite the atmosphere into a fireball.
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Probing the Mysteries of Neutron Stars With a Surprising Earthly Analog
Ultracold gases in the lab could help scientists better understand the universe.
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Fire on the Savanna
Our writer joins researchers in Mozambique to uncover how fire shapes Africa’s grand wilderness.
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What Is a Beautiful Experiment?
Finding beauty in science is timeless. But we shouldn’t let it blind us.
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The “Tortured Artist” Inside All Of Us
A conversation with issue 51 cover artist Jennifer Bruce.
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Bees Can’t Find Food in Dirty Air
That means humans could go hungry, too.
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Why Did That Come to Mind?
The hidden logic behind what pops into your head.
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You’re More of a Climate Skeptic Than You Think
Here’s how psychology can help fix that. (It’s easier than you’d guess.)
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The Case Against Cooking with Gas
New evidence suggests electric stoves are better for people and the planet.
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Should You Ditch Your Eco-Friendly Drinking Straw?
Some of them contain materials that are harmful to human health.
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What the Earth Knows
How understanding Earth’s deep past can lead us into our radically altered future.
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Pick Up Your Dog’s Poop or Else!
Science is coming after people who don’t give a @#$% about sidewalks.
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The Paradox of the Radioactive Boars
Scientists solve a long-standing mystery in Bavaria.
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A New Look at One of the Oldest Weapons
What a 300,000-year-old throwing stick reveals about our near-human ancestors.
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Risky Giant Steps Can Solve Optimization Problems Faster
New results break with decades of conventional wisdom for the gradient descent algorithm.
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The Social Life of Bats
They sing, have dialects, reserve special tones for their pups—our reporter journeys to Mozambique to explore the unique communication of bats.
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The Holiness in Reality
When science is a source of spirituality in people’s lives, they feel happy and engaged.
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Thousands of Penguin Chicks Lost at Sea
Scientists monitoring emperor penguins in Antarctica recorded an unprecedented tragedy.
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The Invisible Impacts of Calamities
Why we need to study the microbiology of disasters.
